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REMBRANDT   VAN    RYN   (BY    HIMSELF) 
National  Gallery y  London 


(Wa0^iece0  of  Qti 


REMBRANDT 

A.  COLLECTION   OF  FIFTEEN  PICTURES 

AND  A  PORTRAIT  OF  THE  PAINTER 

WITH  INTRODUCTION  AND 

INTERPRETATION 

BY 

ESTELLE  M.  HURLL 


i     < 


BOSTON    AND     NE^V?  YORK  .  * 

HOUGHTON    MIFFLIN   COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,    1899,   BY   HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &  CO. 
ALL   RIGHTS   RESERVED 


PREFACE 

The  choice  of  pictures  for  this  collection  has  been 
made  with  the  object  of  familiarizing  the  student  with 
works  fairly  representative  of  Rembrandt's  art  in  portrait- 
ure and  Biblical  illustration,  landscape  and  genre  study, 
in  painting  and  etching.  Admirers  of  the  Dutch  master 
may  miss  some  well-known  pictures.  For  obvious  reasons 
the  Lecture  in  Anatomy  is  deemed  unsuitable  for  this 
place,  and  the  Hundred  Guilder  Print  contains  too  many 
figures  to  be  reproduced  here  clearly.  The  Syndics  of 
the  Cloth  Guild  and  the  print  of  Christ  Preaching  will 
compensate  for  these  omissions,  and  show  Rembrandt  at 
his  best,  both  with  brush  and  burin. 

There  are  perhaps  no  paintings  in  the  world  more 
difficult  to  reproduce  satisfactorily  in  black  and  white 
than  those  of  Rembrandt.  His  marvelous  effects  of  chi- 
aroscuro leave  in  darkness  portions  of  the  composition, 
which  appear  in  the  photograph  as  unintelligible  blurs. 
With  these  difficulties  to  meet,  great  pains  have  been 
taken  to  select  for  the  reproductions  of  this  book  the  best 
photographs  made  direct  from  the  original  paintings.  A 
comparative  study  of  the  available  material  has  resulted 
in  making  use  of  an  almost  equal  number  from  Messrs. 
Hanfstaengl  &  Co.  and  Messrs.  Braun  &  Cie. 

In  reproducing  the  etchings  the  publishers  have  been 
most  fortunate  in  being  able  to  use  for  the  purpose  ori- 
ginal prints  in  the  Harvey  D.  Parker  Collection  of  the 
Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts. 

ESTELLE   M.  HURLL. 

New  Bedford,  Mass. 
November,  1899. 


525700 


CONTENTS  AND  LIST  OF  PICTURES 

Portrait  of   Rembrandt.    Painted  by  himself.    Frontispiece. 
From  Photograph  by  Maison  Ad.  Braun  &  Cie. 

page 
INTRODUCTION 

i.   On  Rembrandt's  Character  as  an  Artist    .    .    .    .   vii 

ii.   On  Books  of  Reference xi 

hl  Historical  Directory  of  the  Pictures  of  this  Col- 
lection     xiii 

rv.  Outline  Table  of  the  Principal  Events  in  Rem- 
brandt's Llfe xiv 

v.  Some  of  Rembrandt's  Famous    Contemporaries   in 

Holland xv 

vi.  Foreign  Contemporary  Painters xvii 

I.  JACOB  WRESTLING  WITH  THE  ANGEL 1 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl  .      3 

LT.  ISRAEL  BLESSING  THE  SONS  OF  JOSEPH 7 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl  .      9 
HI.  THE  ANGEL  RAPHAEL  LEAVING  THE  FAMILY  OF 

TOBIT 13 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Maison  Ad.  Braun  & 

Cie 15 

IV.  THE  RAT  KILLER 19 

Picture  from  Original  Etching  in  the  Museum  of 

Fine  Arts,  Boston 21 

V.  THE  PHILOSOPHER  IN  MEDITATION 25 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Maison  Ad.  Braun  & 
Cie 27 

VI.  THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN 31 

Picture  from  Original  Etching  in  the  Museum  of 

Fine  Arts,  Boston 33 

VH.  THE  PRESENTATION  IN  THE  TEMPLE 37 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl  .  39 

Vm.  CHRIST  PREACHING 43 

Picture  from  Original  Etching  in  the  Museum  of 

Ftne  Arts,  Boston 45 

IX.  CHRIST  AT  EMMAUS 49 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Maison  Ad.  Braun  & 

Cie 51 


vi  CONTENTS  AND  LIST  OF  PICTURES 

X.   PORTRAIT  OF  SASKIA 55 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl  .  57 

XL  THE  SORTIE  OF  THE  CIVIC  GUARD 61 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Maison  Ad.  Braun  & 

Cie .63 

XII.  PORTRAIT  OF  JAN  SIX 67 

Picture  from  Original  Etching  in  the  Museum  of 

Fine  Arts,  Boston 69 

XHL  PORTRAIT  OF  AN  OLD  WOMAN 73 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Maison  Ad.  Braun  & 

Cie 7£ 

XIV.   THE  SYNDICS  OF  THE  CLOTH  GUILD 79 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl  .  81 

XV.   THE  THREE  TREES 85 

Picture  from  Original  Etching  in  the  Museum  of 

Fine  Arts,  Boston 87 

XVI.    THE  PORTRAIT  OF  REMBRANDT  (See  Frontispiece) .    .  91 

PRONOUNCING  VOCABULARY  OF   PROPER  NAMES  AND 

FOREIGN  WORDS 95 


INTRODUCTION 


I.   ON  REMBRANDT'S  CHARACTER  AS  AN  ARTIST 

A  general  impression  prevails  with  the  large  picture- 
loving  public  that  a  special  training  is  necessary  to  any- 
proper  appreciation  of  Rembrandt.  He  is  the  idol  of  the 
connoisseur  because  of  his  superb  mastery  of  technique, 
his  miracles  of  chiaroscuro,  his  blending  of  colors.  Those 
who  do  not  understand  these  matters  must,  it  is  supposed, 
stand  quite  without  the  pale  of  his  admirers.  Too  many 
people,  accepting  this  as  a  dictum,  take  no  pains  to  make 
the  acquaintance  of  the  great  Dutch  master.  It  may  be 
that  they  are  repelled  at  the  outset  by  Rembrandt's  indif- 
ference to  beauty.  His  pictures  lack  altogether  those 
superficial  qualities  which  to  some  are  the  first  requisites 
of  a  picture.  Weary  of  the  familiar  commonplaces  of 
daily  life,  the  popular  imagination  looks  to  art  for  hap- 
pier scenes  and  fairer  forms.  This  taste,  so  completely 
gratified  by  Raphael,  is  at  first  strangely  disappointed  by 
Rembrandt.  While  Raphael  peoples  his  canvases  with 
beautiful  creatures  of  another  realm,  Rembrandt  draws 
his  material  from  the  common  world  about  us.  In  place 
of  the  fair  women  and  charming  children  with  whom  Ra- 
phael delights  us,  he  chooses  his  models  from  wrinkled  old 
men  and  beggars.  Rembrandt  is  nevertheless  a  poet  and  a 
visionary  in  his  own  way.  "  For  physical  beauty  he  sub- 
stitutes moral  expression,"  says  Fromentin.  If  in  the  first 
glance  at  his  picture  we  see  only  a  transcript  of  common 


viii  REMBRANDT 

life,  a  second  look  discovers  something  in  this  common 
life  that  we  have  never  before  seen  there.  We  look 
again,  and  we  see  behind  the  commonplace  exterior  the 
poetry  of  the  inner  life.  A  vision  of  the  ideal  hovers 
just  beyond  the  real.  Thus  we  gain  refreshment,  not  by 
being  lifted  out  of  the  world,  but  by  a  revelation  of  the 
beauty  which  is  in  the  world.  Rembrandt  becomes  to  us 
henceforth  an  interpreter  of  the  secrets  of  humanity.  As 
Raphael  has  been  surnamed  "  the  divine,"  for  the  godlike 
beauty  of  his  creations,  so  Rembrandt  is  "  the  human," 
for  his  sympathetic  insight  into  the  lives  of  his  fellow 
men. 

Even  for  those  who  are  slow  to  catch  the  higher  mean- 
ing of  Rembrandt's  work,  there  is  still  much  to  entertain 
and  interest  in  his  rare  story-telling  power  —  a  gift  which 
should  in  some  measure  compensate  for  his  lack  of  super- 
ficial beauty.  His  story  themes  are  almost  exclusively 
Biblical,  and  his  style  is  not  less  simple  and  direct  than 
the  narrative  itself.  Every  detail  counts  for  something 
in  the  development  of  the  dramatic  action.  Probably  no 
other  artist  has  understood  so  well  the  pictorial  qualities 
of  patriarchal  history.  That  singular  union  of  poetry 
and  prose,  of  mysticism  and  practical  common  sense,  so 
striking  in  the  Hebrew  character,  appealed  powerfully  to 
Rembrandt's  imagination.  It  was  peculiarly  well  repre- 
sented in  the  scenes  of  angelic  visitation.  Jacob  wres- 
tling with  the  An^el  affords  a  fine  contrast  between  the 
strenuous  realities  of  life  and  the  pure  white  ideal  rising 
majestically  beyond.  The  homely  group  of  Tobit's 
family  is  glorified  by  the  light  of  the  radiant  angel  soar- 
in  <r  into  heaven  from  the  midst  of  them. 

Rembrandt's  New  Testament  scenes  are  equally  well 
adapted  to  emphasize  the  eternal  immanence  of  the  super- 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

natural  in  the  natural.  The  Presentation  in  the  Temple 
is  invested  with  solemn  significance ;  the  simple  Supper 
at  Emmaus  is  raised  into  a  sacrament  by  the  transfigured 
countenance  of  the  Christ.  For  all  these  contrasts  be- 
tween the  actual  and  the  ideal,  Rembrandt  had  a  perfect 
vehicle  of  artistic  expression  in  chiaroscuro.  In  the  mas- 
tery of  the  art  of  light  and  shade  he  is  supreme.  His 
entire  artistic  career  was  devoted  to  this  great  problem, 
and  we  can  trace  his  success  through  all  the  great  pictures 
from  the  Presentation  to  the  Syndics. 

Rembrandt  apparently  cared  very  little  for  the  nude, 
for  the  delicate  curves  of  the  body  and  the  exquisite 
colors  of  flesh.  Yet  to  overbalance  this  disregard  of 
beautiful  form  was  his  strong  predilection  for  finery. 
None  ever  loved  better  the  play  of  light  ivpon  jewels  and 
satin  and  armor,  the  rich  effectiveness  of  Oriental  stuffs 
and  ecclesiastical  vestments.  Unable  to  gratify  this  taste 
in  the  portraits  which  he  painted  to  order,  he  took  every 
opportunity  to  paint  both  himself  and  his  wife,  Saskia,  in 
costume.  Wherever  the  subject  admitted,  he  introduced 
what  he  could  of  rich  detail.  In  the  picture  of  Israel 
Blessing  the  Sons  of  Joseph,  Asenath,  as  the  wife  of  an 
Egyptian  official,  is  appropriately  adorned  with  jewels 
and  finery.  In  the  Sortie  of  the  Civic  Guard,  Captain 
Cocq  is  resplendent  in  his  military  regalia. 

With  all  this  fondness  for  pretty  things,  Rembrandt 
never  allowed  his  fancy  to  carry  him  beyond  the  limits  of 
fitness  in  sacred  art.  The  Venetian  masters  had  repre- 
sented the  most  solemn  scenes  of  the  New  Testament  with 
a  pomp  and  magnificence  entirely  at  variance  with  their 
meaning.  Rembrandt  understood  better  the  real  signifi- 
cance of  Christianity,  and  made  no  such  mistake.  His 
Supper  at  Emmaus  is  the  simple  evening  meal  of  three 


-> 


x  REMBRANDT 

peasant  pilgrims  precisely  as  it  is  represented  in  the  Gos- 
pel. His  Christ  Preaching  includes  a  motley  company 
of  humble  folk,  such  as  the  great  Teacher  loved  to  gather 
about  him. 

It  was  perhaps  the  obverse  side  of  his  fondness  for 
finery,  that  Rembrandt  had  a  strong  leaning  towards  the 
picturesqueness  of  rags.  A  very  interesting  class  of  his 
etchings  is  devoted  to  genre  studies  and  beggars.  Here 
his  disregard  of  the  beautiful  in  the  passion  for  expres- 
sion reached  an  extreme.  His  subjects  are  often  gro- 
tesque —  sometimes  repulsive  —  but  always  intensely  hu- 
man. Reading  human  character  with  rare  sympathy,  he 
was  profoundly  touched  by  the  poetry  and  the  pathos  of 
these  miserable  lives.  Through  all  these  studies  runs  a 
quaint  vein  of  humor,  relieving  the  pathos  of  the  situa- 
tions. The  picturesque  costume  of  the  /  old  Rat  Killer 
tickles  the  sense  of  humor,  and  conveys  somehow  a  de- 
lightful suggestion  of  his  humbuggery  which  offsets  the 
touching  squalor  of  the  grotesque  little  apprentice.  And 
none  but  a  humorist  could  have  created  the  swaggering 
hostler's  boy  holding  the  Good  Samaritan's  horse. 

As  a  revealer  of  character,  Rembrandt  reaches  the  cli- 
max of  his  power  in  his  portraits.  From  this  class  of  his 
pictures  alone  one  can  repeople  Holland  with  the  spirits 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  All  classes  and  conditions 
and  all  ages  came  within  the  range  of  his  magic  brush 
and  burin.  The  fresh  girlhood  of  Saskia,  the  sturdy 
manhood  of  the  Syndics,  and  the  storied  old  age  of  his 
favorite  old  woman  model  show  the  scope  of  his  power, 
and  in  Israel  Blessing  the  Sons  of  Joseph  he  shows  the 
whole  range  in  a  single  composition.  He  is  manifestly 
at  his  best  when  his  sitter  has  pronounced  features  and 
wrinkled  skin,  a  face  full  of  character,  which  he  under' 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

stood  so  well  how  to  depict.  Obstacles  stimulated  him 
to  his  highest  endeavor.  Given  the  prosaic  and  hackneyed 
motif  of  the  Syndics'  composition,  he  rose  to  the  highest 
point  of  artistic  expression  in  a  portrait  group,  in  which 
a  grand  simplicity  of  technical  style  is  united  with  a  pro- 
found and  intimate  knowledge  of  human  nature. 


II.    ON  BOOKS  OF  REFERENCE 

The  history  of  modern  Rembrandt  bibliography  pro- 
perly begins  with  the  famous  work  by  C.  Vosmaer, 
"  Rembrandt  Harmens  van  Rijn,  sa  Yie  et  ses  GEuvres." 
Vosmaer  profited  by  the  researches  of  Kolloff  and  Burger 
to  bring  out  a  book  which  opened  a  new  era  in  the  appre- 
ciation of  the  great  Dutch  master.  It  was  first  issued  in 
1868,  and  was  republished  in  1877  in  an  enlarged  edi- 
tion. This  book  was  practically  alone  in  the  field  until 
the  recent  work  of  Emile  Michel  appeared.  In  the 
English  translation  (by  Florence  Simmonds)  edited  by 
Walter  Armstrong,  Michel's  "  Rembrandt  "  is  at  the  pre- 
sent moment  our  standard  authority  on  the  subject.  It  is 
in  two  large  illustrated  volumes  full  of  historical  informa- 
tion and  criticism  and  containing  a  complete  classified  list 
of  Rembrandt's  works  — paintings,  drawings,  and  etchings. 

The  "Complete  Work  of  Rembrandt,"  by  Wilhelm 
Bode,  is  now  issuing  from  the  press  (1899),  and  will  con- 
sist of  eight  volumes  containing  reproductions  of  all  the 
master's  pictures,  with  historical  and  descriptive  text.  It 
is  to  be  hoped  that  this  mammoth  and  costly  work  will 
be  put  into  many  large  reference  libraries,  where  students 
may  consult  it  to  see  Rembrandt's  work  in  its  entirety. 

The  series   of   small  German   monographs  edited   by 


xii  REMBRANDT 

H.  Knackfuss  and  now  translated  into  English  has  one 
number  devoted  to  Rembrandt,  containing  nearly  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  reproductions  from  his  works,  with  descrip- 
tive text.  Kugler's  "  Handbook  of  the  German,  Flemish, 
and  Dutch  Schools,"  revised  by  J.  A.  Crowe,  includes  a 
brief  account  of  Rembrandt's  life  and  work,  which  may 
be  taken  as  valuable  and  trustworthy.  For  a  critical  esti- 
mate of  the  character  of  Rembrandt's  art,  its  strength 
and  weaknesses,  and  its  peculiarities,  nothing  can  be  more 
interesting  than  what  Eugene  Fromentin,  French  painter 
and  critic,  has  written  in  his  "  Old  Masters  of  Belgium 
and  Holland." 

Rembrandt's  etchings  have  been  the  exclusive  subject 
of  many  books.  There  are  voluminous  descriptive  cata- 
logues by  Bartsch  ("  Le  Peintre  Graveur  ")  Claussin, 
Wilson,  Charles  Blanc,  Middleton,  and  Dutuit.  A  short 
monograph  on  "  The  Etchings  of  Rembrandt,"  by  Philip 
Gilbert  Hamerton  (London,  1896),  reviews  the  most 
famous  prints  in  a  very  pleasant  way. 

There  are  valuable  prints  from  the  original  plates  of 
Rembrandt  in  the  Harvey  D.  Parker  collection  of  the 
Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  and  in  the  Gray  collec- 
tion of  the  Fogg  Museum  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 
Those  who  are  not  fortunate  enough  to  have  access  to 
original  prints  will  derive  much  satisfaction  from  the 
complete  set  of  reproductions  published  in  St.  Petersburg 
(1890)  with  catalogue  by  Rovinski,  and  from  the  excel- 
lent reproductions  of  Amand  Durand,  Paris. 

To  come  in  touch  with  the  spirit  of  the  times  and  of 
the  country  of  Rembrandt,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Mot- 
ley's "  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic,"  condensed  and  con- 
tinued by  W.  E.  Griffis. 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 


in.    HISTORICAL  DIRECTORY   OF   THE  PICTURES  OF 
THIS  COLLECTION 

Portrait  Frontispiece.  National  Gallery,  London.  Signed 
and  dated  1640. 

1.  Jacob  Wrestling  with  the  Angel.  Berlin  Gallery.  Signed 
and  dated  1659.  Figures  life  size.  Size :  4  ft.  5T\  in.  by  3  ft. 
9|  in. 

2.  Israel  Blessing  the  Sons  of  Joseph.  Cassel  Gallery. 
Signed  and  dated  1656.  Figures  life  size.  Size  :  5  ft.  8^  in. 
by  6  ft.  6|  in. 

3.  The  Angel  Raphael  Leaving  the  Family  of  Tobit. 
Louvre,  Paris.  Signed  and  dated  1637.  Size :  2  ft.  2|f  in. 
by  1  ft.  8£  in. 

4.  The  Rat  Killer.  Etching.  Signed  and  dated  1632. 
Size :  h\  in.  by  4^  in. 

5.  The  Philosopher  in  Meditation.  Louvre,  Paris.  Signed 
and  dated  1633.     Size  :  11^  in.  by  13  in. 

6.  The  Good  Samaritan.  Etching.  Signed  and  dated 
1633.     Size  :  10^  in.  by  8f  in. 

7.  The  Presentation  in  the  Temple.  At  the  Hague.  Signed 
and  dated  1631.     Size  :  2  ft.  4jJ  in.  by  1  ft.  6f  in. 

8.  Christ  Preaching.  Etching.  Date  assigned  by  Michel, 
about  1652.     Size  :  6£  in.  by  8£  in. 

9.  Christ  at  Emmaus.  Louvre,  Paris.  Signed  and  dated 
1648.     Size  :  2  ft.  2|§  in.  by  2  ft.  If  in. 

10.  Portrait  of  Saskia.  Cassel  Gallery.  Painted  about 
1632-1634.     Life  size.     Size  :  3  ft.  2j£  in.  by  2  ft.  If  in. 

11.  Sortie  of  the  Civic  Guard.  Ryks  Museum  (Trippen- 
huis),  Amsterdam.  Signed  and  dated  1642.  Life  size  figures. 
Size :  11  ft.  9|  in.  by  14  ft.  3^  in. 

12.  Portrait  of  Jan  Six.  Etching.  Signed  and  dated 
1647.     Size  :  about  9|  in.  by  7|  in. 

13.  Portrait  of  an  Old  Woman.  Hermitage  Gallery,  St. 
Petersburg.  Signed  and  dated  1654.  Size :  3  ft.  6|  in.  by 
2  ft.  9  in. 

14.  The  Syndics  of  the  Cloth  Guild.     Ryks  Museum  (Trip- 


xiv  REMBRANDT 

penhuis),   Amsterdam.      Signed   and   dated   1661.     Life   size 
figures.     Size  :  6  ft.  ^  in.  by  8  ft.  H\%  in. 

15.    The  Three  Trees.     Etching,   1643.     Size:   8£  in.  by 
11  in. 

IV.   OUTLINE  TABLE  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  EVENTS 
IN  REMBRANDT'S  LIFE 

1606. l    Rembrandt  born  in  Leyden. 

1621.     Rembrandt  apprenticed  to  the  painter,  Jacob  van  Swa- 

nenburch. 
1624.     Rembrandt  studied  six  months  with  Pieter  Lastman  in 

Amsterdam. 
1627.     Rembrandt's  earliest  known  works,  St.  Paul  in  Prison, 

(Stuttgart  Museum)  ;  The  Money  Changers  (Berlin 

Gallery). 
1631.     Rembrandt  removed  to  Amsterdam. 

1631.  The  Presentation  painted. 

1632.  The  Anatomy  Lecture  painted. 

1633.  The  portrait  of  the  Shipbuilder  and  his  Wife  painted. 

1634.  Rembrandt  married  Saskia  van  Uylenborch,  June  22, 

in  Bildt. 

1635.  Rembrandt's   son    Rombertus   baptized   December  15. 

(Died  in  infancy.) 

1637.  Angel  Raphael  Leaving  Family  of  Tobit  painted. 

1638.  Rembrandt's  daughter  Cornelia  born.     (Died  in  early 

childhood.) 

1639.  Rembrandt  bought  a  house  in  the  Joden  Breestraat. 

1640.  Rembrandt's  second  daughter  born  and  died. 
1640.     Rembrandt's  mother  died. 

1640.  The  Carpenter's  Household  painted. 

1641.  Manoah's  Prayer  painted. 

1641.  Rembrandt's  son  Titus  baptized. 

1642.  Sortie  of  the  Civic  Guard  (The  Night  Watch)  painted 

for  the  hall  of  the  Amsterdam  Musketeers. 

1  Authorities  are  not  entirely  unanimous  as  to  the  date  of  Rem- 
brandt's birth. 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

1642.     Rembrandt's  wife,  Saskia,  died. 

1648.  Christ  at  Emmaus  painted. 

1649.  The  Hundred  Guilder  print  etched. 

1651.  Christ  Appearing  to  Magdalen  painted. 

1652.  Christ  Preaching  etched. 
1656.     Rembrandt's  bankruptcy. 

1656.     Israel  Blessing  the  Sons  of  Joseph  painted. 
1661.     Portrait  of  the  Syndics  painted  for  the  Guild  of  Drapers, 
Amsterdam. 

1668.  Rembrandt's  son  Titus  died. 

1669.  Rembrandt  died. 


V.    SOME    OF   REMBRANDT'S    FAMOUS    CONTEMPORA- 
RIES IN  HOLLAND 

Frederick  Henry  of  Orange,  stadtholder,  1625.    Princess  Ama- 

lia  of  Solms,  wife  of   Frederick  Henry,  built  the  Huis  ten 

Bosch  (House  in  the  Woods)  at  the  Hague,  1647. 
William  II  of  Orange,  stadtholder,  1647.     In  1650  the  stadt- 

holderate  was  suppressed,  and  John  de  Witt  became  in  1653 

chief  executive  of  the  republic  for  twenty  years.     Murdered 

in  1672. 
John  of  Barneveld,  Grand  Pensioner,  "  the  greatest  statesman 

in  all  the  history  of  the  Netherlands"  (Griffis).     Executed 

May  24,  1619. 
Michael  de  Ruyter,  "  the  Dutch  Nelson,"  died  1676. 
Marten  Harpertzoon  von  Tromp,  admiral.     Born  1597  ;  died 

1691.     (He  defeated  the  English  fleet  under  Blake.) 
Cornelius  Evertsen,  admiral. 
Floriszoon,  admiral. 
Witte  de  With,  admiral. 
Hendrik  Hudson,  navigator  and  discoverer ;  first  voyage,  1607, 

last  voyage,  1610. 
Captain  Zeachen,  discoverer. 

Hugo  Grotius,  father  of  international  law,  1583-1645. 
Jan  Six,  burgomaster,  bibliophile,  art  connoisseur,  and  drama* 

tist,  1618-1700. 


xvi  REMBRANDT 

Spinoza,  philosopher,  1622-1677. 
Joost  van  den  Vondel,  poet  and  dramatist,  1587-1679. 
Jacob  Cats,  Grand  Pensionary  and  poet,  1577-1660. 
Constantine  Huyghens,  poet. 

Gysbart  Voet  (Latin,  Voetius)   1588-1678,  professor  of  theo- 
logy at  Utrecht. 
Cornells  Jansen,  born  1585.     Professor  of  scripture  interpre- 
tation at  Louvain. 
Johannes  Koch  (Latin,  Coccejus),  1603-1669,  professor  of  the- 
ology at  Leyden  and,  "  after  Erasmus,  the  father  of  modern 
Biblical  criticism." 
J.  van  Kampen,  architect,  built  the  Het  Palais  (Royal  Palace) 

in  Amsterdam,  1648. 
Jansz  Vinckenbrink,  sculptor. 
Hendrik  de  Keyser,  sculptor. 
Crabeth  brothers,  designers  of  stained  glass. 
Painters  :  — 

Franz  Hals,  1584-1666. 

Gerard  Honthorst,  1590-1656. 

Albert  Cnyp,  1605-1691. 

Jan  van  Goyen,  1596-1656. 

Jacob  Ruysdael,  1625-1682. 

Paul  Potter,  1625-1654. 

Jan  Lievens,  born  1607  ;  died  after  1672. 

Salomon  Koning,  1609-1668. 

Gerard  Terburg,  1608-1681. 

Nicolas  Berghem,  1620-1683. 

Jan  Steen,  1626-1679. 

Adrian  van  Ostade,  1610-1685. 
Rembrandt's  pupils  :  — 

Ferdinand  Bol,  1616-1680. 

Govert  Flinck,  1615-1660. 

Van  den  Eeckhont,  1620-1674. 

Gerard  Don,  1613-1680. 

Nicolas  Maes,  1632-1693. 

Juriaen  Ovens,  1623. 

Hendrick  Heerschop,  born  1620,  entered  Rembrandt's  stu- 
dio, 1644. 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

Carl  Fabritius,  1624-1654. 

Samuel  van  Hoogstraaten,   born  1627,  with  Rembrandt, 

1640-1650. 
Aert  de  Gelder,  1645-1727. 
Less  important  names  :    Jan  van  Glabbeck,  Jacobus  Le- 

vecq,   Heyman   Dullaert,   Johan  Hendricksen,  Adriaen 

Verdael,  Cornells  Drost. 


VI.  FOREIGN  CONTEMPORARY  PAINTERS 

Flemish :  — 

Peter  Paul  Rubens,  1577-1640. 

Anthony  VanJ^ck,  1599-1641. 

Jacob  Jordaens,  1594-1678. 

Franz  Snyders,  1574-1657. 

Gaspard  de  Craeyer,  1582-1669. 

David  Teniers,  1610-1690. 
Spanish  :  — 

Velascyiez,  1599-1660. 

Pacheco,  1571-1654. 

Cano,  1601-1676. 

Herrera,  1576-1656. 

Zurbaran,  1598-1662. 

Mm21p,  1618-1682. 
French  :  — 

Simon  Vouet,  1582-1641. 

Charles  Le  Brun,  1619-1690. 

Eustache  Le  Sueur,  1617-1655. 
Italian  :  — 

Carlo  Dolci,  1616-1686. 

Guido  Rem,  1575-1642. 

Domenichino,  1581-1641. 

Francesco  Albani,  1578-1660. 

Guercino,  1591-1666. 

Sassoferrato,  1605-1685. 


JACOB  WRESTLING  WITH  THE  ANGEL 

The  history  of  the  Old  Testament  patriarch  Ja- 
cob reads  like  a  romance.  He  was  the  younger  of 
the  two  sons  of  Isaac,  and  was  at  a  great  disadvan- 
tage on  this  account.  Among  his  people  the  eldest 
son  always  became  the  family  heir  and  also  received 
the  choicest  blessing  from  the  father,  a  privilege 
coveted  as  much  as  wealth.  In  this  case  there- 
fore the  privileged  son  was  Jacob's  brother  Esau. 
Jacob  resented  keenly  the  inequality  of  his  lot ;  and 
his  mother  sympathized  with  him,  as  he  was  her 
favorite.  A  feeling  of  enmity  grew  up  between 
the  brothers,  and  in  the  end  Jacob  did  Esau  a  great 
wrong. 

One  day  Esau  came  in  from  hunting,  nearly 
starved,  and  finding  his  younger  brother  cooking 
some  lentils,  begged  a  portion  of  it  for  himself. 
Jacob  seized  the  chance  to  make  a  sharp  bargain. 
He  offered  his  brother  the  food  —  which  is  called  in 
the  quaint  Bible  language  a  "  mess  of  pottage  "  — 
making  him  promise  in  return  that  he  would  let 
their  father  give  his  blessing  to  the  younger  instead 
of  the  older  son.  Esau  was  a  careless  fellow,  too 
hungry  to  think  what  he  was  saying,  and  so  read- 
ily yielded. 


2  REMBRANDT 

But  though  Esau  might  sell  his  birthright  in  this 
fashion,  the  father  would  not  have  been  willing  to 
give  the  blessing  to  the  younger  son,  had  it  not 
been  for  a  trick  planned  by  the  mother.  The  old 
man  was  nearly  blind,  and  knew  his  sons  apart  by 
the  touch  of  their  skin,  as  Esau  had  a  rough,  hairy 
skin  and  Jacob  a  smooth  one.  The  mother  put 
skins  of  kids  upon  Jacob's  hands  and  neck  and 
bade  him  go  to  his  father  pretending  to  be  Esau, 
and  seek  his  blessing.  The  trick  was  successful, 
and  when  a  little  later  Esau  himself  came  to  his 
father  on  the  same  errand,  he  found  that  he  had 
been  superseded.  Naturally  he  was  very  angry,  and 
vowed  vengeance  on  his  brother.  Jacob,  fearing 
for  his  life,  fled  into  a  place  called  Padanaram. 

In  this  place  he  became  a  prosperous  cattle  farmer 
and  grew  very  rich.  He  married  there  also  and 
had  a  large  family  of  children.  After  fourteen 
years  he  bethought  himself  of  his  brother  Esau  and 
the  great  wrong  he  had  done  him.  He  resolved  to 
remove  his  family  to  his  old  home,  and  to  be  recon- 
ciled with  his  brother.  Hardly  daring  to  expect  to 
be  favorably  received,  he  sent  in  advance  a  large 
number  of  cattle  in  three  droves  as  a  gift  to  Esau. 
Then  he  awaited  over  night  some  news  or  message 
from  his  brother.  In  the  night  a  strange  adven- 
ture befell  him.  This  is  the  way  the  story  is  told  in 
the  book  of  Genesis.1 

"  There  wrestled  a  man  with  him  until  the  break- 
ing of  the  day.     And  when  he  saw  that  he  pre- 

1  Genesis,  chapter  xxxii.  verses  24r-31. 


Fr.  Hanfataengl,  Photo.  John  Andrew  4c  Son,  So. 

JACOB    WRESTLING    WITH    THE  ANGEL 
Berlin  Gallery 


JACOB  WRESTLING   WITH  THE  ANGEL  5 

vailed  not  against  him,  he  touched  the  hollow  of  his 
thigh ;  and  the  hollow  of  Jacob's  thigh  was  out 
of  joint,  as  he  wrestled  with  him.  And  he  said, 
6  Let  me  go,  for  the  day  breaketh.'  And  he  said, 
'  I  will  not  let  thee  go,  except  thou  bless  me.'  And 
he  said  unto  him,  '  What  is  thy  name  ?  '  And  he 
said,  '  Jacob.'  And  he  said,  i  Thy  name  shall  be 
called  no  more  Jacob,  but  Israel ;  for  as  a  prince 
hast  thou  power  with  God  and  with  men,  and  hast 
prevailed.'  .  .  .  And  he  blessed  him  there. 

"  And  Jacob  called  the  name  of  the  place  Peniel : 
for  I  have  seen  God  face  to  face,  and  my  life  is 
preserved.  And  as  he  passed  over  Penuel,  the  sun 
rose  upon  him  and  he  halted  upon  his  thigh ; "  that 
is,  he  walked  halt,  or  lame. 

The  crisis  in  Jacob's  life  was  passed,  for  hardly 
had  he  set  forth  on  this  morning  when  he  saw  his 
brother  whom  he  had  wronged  advancing  with  four 
hundred  men  to  meet  him.  "  And  Esau  ran  to 
meet  him,  and  embraced  him,  and  fell  on  his  neck 
and  kissed  him  :  and  they  wept." 

So  were  the  brothers  reconciled. 

The  picture  represents  Jacob  wrestling  with  his 
mysterious  adversary.  We  have  seen  from  his  his- 
tory how  determined  he  was  to  have  his  own  way, 
and  how  he  wrested  worldly  prosperity  even  from 
misfortunes.  Now  he  is  equally  determined  in  this 
higher  and  more  spiritual  conflict.  It  is  a  very 
real  struggle,  and  Jacob  has  prevailed  only  by  put- 
ting forth  his  utmost  energy.  It  is  the  moment 
when  the  grand  angel,  pressing  one  knee  into  the 


6  REMBRANDT 

hollow  of  Jacob's  left  thigh  and  laying  his  hand  on 
his  right  side,  looks  into  his  face  and  grants  the 
blessing  demanded  as  a  condition  for  release. 
Strong  and  tender  is  his  gaze,  and  the  gift  he  be- 
stows is  a  new  name,  in  token  of  the  new  charac- 
ter of  brotherly  love  of  which  this  victory  is  the 
beginning. 

The  story  of  St.  Michael  and  the  Dragon,  which 
Raphael  has  painted,  stands  for  the  everlasting  con- 
flict between  good  and  evil  in  the  world.  There  is 
a  like  meaning  in  the  story  of  Jacob's  wrestling 
with  the  angel.  The  struggle  is  in  the  human  heart 
between  selfish  impulses  and  higher  ideals.  The 
day  when  one  can  hold  on  to  the  good  angel  long 
enough  to  win  a  blessing,  is  the  day  which  begins 
a  new  chapter  in  a  man's  life. 


II 

ISRAEL  BLESSING  THE  SONS  OF  JOSEPH 

When  Jacob  wrestled  with  the  angel  he  received 
a  new  name,  Israel,  or  a  prince,  a  champion  of 
God. 

Israel  became  the  founder  of  the  great  Israelite 
nation,  and  from  his  twelve  sons  grew  up  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel,  among  whom  was  distributed  the 
country  now  called  Palestine.  Among  these  sons 
the  father's  favorite  was  Joseph,  who  was  next  to 
the  youngest.  This  favoritism  aroused  the  anger 
and  jealousy  of  the  older  brothers,  and  they  plotted 
to  get  rid  of  him.  One  day  when  they  were  all  out 
with  some  flocks  in  a  field  quite  distant  from  their 
home,  they  thought  they  were  rid  forever  of  the 
hated  Joseph  by  selling  him  to  a  company  of  men 
who  were  journeying  to  Egypt.  Then  they  dipped 
the  lad's  coat  in  goat's  blood  and  carried  it  to 
Israel,  who,  supposing  his  son  to  have  been  devoured 
by  a  wild  beast,  mourned  him  as  dead. 

When  Joseph  had  grown  to  manhood  in  Egypt,  a 
singular  chain  of  circumstances  brought  the  brothers 
together  again.  There  was  a  sore  famine,  and 
Egypt  was  the  headquarters  for  the  sale  of  corn. 
Joseph  had  shown  himself  so  able  and  trustworthy 
that  he  was  given  charge  of  selling  and  distributing 


8  REMBRANDT 

the  stores  of  food.  So  when  Israel's  older  sons 
came  from  their  home  to  Egypt  to  buy  corn  they 
had  to  apply  to  Joseph,  whom  they  little  suspected 
of  being  the  brother  they  had  so  cruelly  wronged. 
There  is  a  pretty  story,  too  long  to  repeat  here,  of 
how  Joseph  disclosed  himself  to  his  astonished  bre- 
thren, and  forgave  them  their  cruelty,  how  he  sent 
for  his  father  to  come  to  Egypt  to  live  near  him, 
how  there  was  a  joyful  reunion,  and  how  "  they  all 
lived  happily  ever  after." 

When  the  time  drew  near  for  Israel  to  die,  he 
desired  to  bestow  his  last  blessing  on  his  sons.  And 
first  of  all  his  beloved  son  Joseph  brought  him  his 
own  two  boys,  Ephraim  and  Manasseh. 

Now  according  to  the  traditions  of  the  patriarchs, 
it  was  the  eldest  son  who  should  receive  the  choicest 
blessing  from  his  father.  Israel,  however,  had  found 
among  his  own  sons  that  it  was  a  younger  one, 
Joseph,  who  had  proved  himself  the  most  worthy  of 
love.  This  may  have  shaken  his  faith  in  the  wisdom 
of  the  old  custom.  Perhaps,  too,  he  remembered 
how  his  own  boyhood  had  been  made  unhappy  be- 
cause he  was  the  younger  son,  and  how  he  had  on 
that  account  been  tempted  to  deceit. 

Whatever  the  reason,  he  surprised  Joseph  at  the 
last  moment  by  showing  a  preference  for  the  younger 
of  the.  two  grandsons,  Ephraim,  expressing  this  pre- 
ference by  laying  the  right  hand,  instead  of  the  left, 
on  his  head.  The  blessing  was  spoken  in  these 
solemn  words :  "  God,  before  whom  my  fathers 
Abraham  and  Isaac  did  walk,  the  God  which  fed 


ISRAEL  BLESSING  THE  SONS  OF  JOSEPH         11 

me  all  my  life  long  unto  this  day,  the  Angel  which 
redeemed  me  from  all  evil,  bless  the  lads." 

The  narrative  relates 1  that  "  When  Joseph  saw 
that  his  father  laid  his  right  hand  upon  the  head 
of  Ephraim,  it  displeased  him ;  and  he  held  up  his 
father's  hand,  to  remove  it  from  Ephraim's  head 
unto  Manasseh's  head.  And  Joseph  said  unto  his 
father,  '  Not  so,  my  father  :  for  this  is  the  first- 
born ;  put  thy  right  hand  upon  his  head.'  And 
his  father  refused,  and  said,  '  I  know  it,  my  son,  I 
know  it :  he  also  shall  become  a  people,  and  he 
also  shall  be  great ;  but  truly  his  younger  brother 
shall  be  greater  than  he,  and  his  seed  shall  become 
a  multitude  of  nations.'  And  he  blessed  them  that 
day,  saying,  '  In  thee  shall  Israel  bless,  saying,  God 
make  thee  as  Ephraim,  and  as  Manasseh;'  and  he 
set  Ephraim  before  Manasseh." 

As  we  compare  the  picture  with  the  story,  it  is 
easy  to  identify  the  figures.  We  are  naturally  in- 
terested in  Joseph  as  the  hero  of  so  many  romantic 
adventures.  As  a  high  Egyptian  official,  he  makes 
a  dignified  appearance  and  wears  a  rich  turban. 
His  face  is  gentle  and  amiable,  as  we  should  expect 
of  a  loving  son  and  forgiving  brother. 

In  the  old  man  we  see  the  same  Jacob  who 
wrestled  by  night  with  the  Angel  and  was  redeemed 
from  his  life  of  selfishness.  The  same  strong  face  is 
here,  softened  by  sorrow  and  made  tender  by  love. 
The  years  have  cut  deep  lines  of  character  in  the 
forehead,  and  the  flowing  beard  has  become  snowy 
white. 

1  Genesis,  chapter  xlviii.  verses  17-20. 


12  REMBRANDT 

The  dying  patriarch  has  "  strengthened  himself," 
to  sit  up  on  the  bed  for  his  last  duty,  and  his  son 
Joseph  supports  him.  The  children  kneel  together 
by  the  bedside,  the  little  Ephraim  bending  his 
fair  head  humbly  to  receive  his  grandfather's  right 
hand,  Manasseh  looking  up  alertly,  almost  resent- 
fully, as  he  sees  that  hand  passing  over  his  own 
head  to  his  brother's.  Joseph's  wife  Asenath,  the 
children's  mother,  stands  beyond,  looking  on  mus- 
ingly. We  see  that  it  is  a  moment  of  very  solemn 
interest  to  all  concerned.  Though  the  patriarch's 
eyes  are  dim  and  his  hand  trembles,  his  old  deter- 
mined spirit  makes  itself  manifest.  Joseph  is  in 
perplexity  between  his  filial  respect  and  his  solici- 
tude for  his  first-born.  He  puts  his  fingers  gently 
under  his  father's  wrist,  trying  to  lift  the  hand  to 
the  other  head.  The  mother  seems  to  smile  as  if 
well  content.  Perhaps  she  shares  the  grandfather's 
preference  for  little  Ephraim. 

The  picture  is  a  study  in  the  three  ages  of  man, 
childhood,  manhood,  and  old  age,  brought  together 
by  the  most  tender  and  sacred  ties  of  human  life, 
in  the  circle  of  the  family. 


Ill 

THE  ANGEL  EAPHAEL  LEAVING  THE  FAMILY  OF  TOBIT 

The  story  of  Tobit  is  found  in  "what  is  called  the 
Apocrypha,  that  is,  a  collection  of  books  written 
very  much  in  the  manner  of  the  Bible,  and  formerly 
bound  in   Bibles  between  the   Old  and  the   New 

Testament. 

The  story  goes  that  when  Enemessar,  King  ot 
Assyria,  conquered  the  people  of  Israel,  he  led  away 
many  of  them  captive  into  Assyria,  among  them 
the  family  of  Tobit,  his  wife  Anna,  and  their  son 
Tobias.  They  settled  in  Nineveh,  and  Tobit,  being 
an  honest  man,  was  made  purveyor  to  the  king. 
That  is,  it  was  his  business  to  provide  food  for  the 
king's  household. 

In  this  office  he  was  able  to  lay  up  a  good  deal  ot 
money,  which  he  placed  for  safe  keeping  in  the 
hands  of  Gabael,  an  Israelite  who  lived  at  Bages  in 
Media.  Tobit  was  a  generous  man,  and  he  did 
many  kind  deeds  for  his  less  fortunate  fellow  exdes ; 
he  delighted  in  feeding  the  hungry  and  clothing  the 

naked. 

When  Sennacherib  was  king  of  Assyria,  many 
Jews  were  slain  and  left  lying  in  the  street,  and 
Tobit,  finding  their  neglected  bodies,  buried  them 
secretly.     One  night,  after  some  such  deed  of  mercy, 


14  REMBRANDT 

a  sad  affliction  befell  him.  White  films  came  over 
his  eyes,  causing  total  blindness.  In  his  distress 
he  prayed  that  he  might  die,  and  began  to  make 
preparations  for  death.  He  called  his  son  Tobias 
to  him  and  gave  him  much  good  advice  as  to  his 
manner  of  life,  and  then  desired  him  to  go  to  Rages 
to  obtain  the  money  left  there  with  Gabael.  But 
Tobias  must  first  seek  a  guide  for  the  journey. 
"  Therefore,"  says  the  story,  "  when  he  went  to 
seek  a  man,  he  found  Raphael  that  was  an  angel. 
But  he  knew  not ;  and  he  said  unto  him,  '  Canst 
thou  go  with  me  to  Rages  ?  and  knowest  thou  those 
places  well  ?  '  To  whom  the  angel  said, i  I  will  go 
with  thee,  and  I  know  the  way  well :  for  I  have 
lodged  with  our  brother  Gabael.'  The  angel  gave 
himself  the  name  Azarias.  "  So  they  went  forth 
both,  and  the  young  man's  dog  with  them." 

"As  they  went  on  their  journey,  they  came  in  the 
evening  to  the  river  Tigris,  and  they  lodged  there. 
And  when  the  young  man  went  down  to  wash  him- 
self, a  fish  leaped  out  of  the  river,  and  would  have 
devoured  him.  Then  the  angel  said  unto  him, 
6  Take  the  fish.'  And  the  young  man  laid  hold  of 
the  fish,  and  drew  it  to  land.  To  whom  the  angel 
said, i  Open  the  fish  and  take  the  gall,  and  put  it  up 
safely.'  So  the  young  man  did  as  the  angel  com- 
manded him,  and  when  they  had  roasted  the  fish, 
they  did  eat  it :  then  they  both  went  on  their  way, 
till  they  drew  near  to  Ecbatane.  Then  the  young 
man  said  to  the  angel,  i  Brother  Azarias,  to  what  use 
is  the  gall  of  the  fish  ? '    And  he  said  unto  him,  '  It 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  Sc. 


Maison  Ad.  Braun  &  C:e..  Photo. 

THE    ANGEL    RAPHAEL   LEAVING   THE   FAMILY   OF    TOBIT 

The  Louvre,  Paris 


ANGEL  RAPHAEL  LEAVING  THE  FAMILY  OF  TOBIT    17 

is  good  to  anoint  a  man  that  hath  whiteness  in  his 
eyes,  and  he  shall  be  healed.'  " 

After  this  curious  incident  there  were  no  further 
adventures  till  they  came  to  Ecbatane.  Here  they 
lodged  with  Raguel,  a  kinsman  of  Tobit,  and  when 
Tobias  saw  Sara,  the  daughter,  he  loved  her  and 
determined  to  make  her  his  wife.  He  therefore  tar- 
ried fourteen  days  at  Ecbatane,  sending  Azarias  on 
to  Rages  for  the  money.  This  delay  lengthened  the 
time  allotted  for  the  journey,  but  at  last  the  company 
drew  near  to  Nineveh,  —  Azarias  or  Raphael,  and 
Tobias,  with  the  bride,  the  treasure,  and  the  precious 
fishgall.  Raphael  then  gave  Tobias  directions  to  use 
the  gall  for  his  father's  eyes.  Their  arrival  was  the 
cause  of  great  excitement.  u  Anna  ran  forth,  and 
fell  upon  the  neck  of  her  son.  Tobit  also  went 
forth  toward  the  door,  and  stumbled :  but  his  son 
ran  unto  him,  and  took  hold  of  his  father :  and  he 
strake  of  the  gall  on  his  father's  eyes,  saying,  '  Be 
of  good  hope,  my  father.'  And  when  his  eyes 
began  to  smart,  he  rubbed  them ;  and  the  whiteness 
pilled  away  from  the  corners  of  his  eyes :  and  when 
he  saw  his  son,  he  fell  upon  his  neck." 

Now  Tobit  and  Tobias  were  full  of  gratitude  to 
Azarias  for  all  that  he  had  done  for  them,  and,  con- 
sulting together  as  to  how  they  could  reward  him, 
decided  to  give  him  half  the  treasure.  So  the  old 
man  called  the  angel,  and  said,  "  Take  half  of  all 
that  ye  have  brought,  and  go  away  in  safety." 
Then  Raphael  took  them  both  apart,  and  said  unto 
them,  "  Bless  God,  praise  him,  and  magnify  him,  and 


18  REMBRANDT 

praise  him  for  the  things  which  he  hath  done  unto 
you  in  the  sight  of  all  that  live." 

With  this  solemn  introduction  the  angel  goes  on 
to  tell  Tobit  that  he  had  been  with  him  when  he  had 
buried  his  dead  countrymen,  and  that  his  good  deeds 
were  not  hid  from  him,  and  that  his  prayers  were 
remembered.  He  concludes  by  showing  who  he 
really  is. 

"  I  am  Raphael,  one  of  the  seven  holy  angels, 
which  present  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  and  which 
go  in  and  out  before  the  glory  of  the  Holy  One. 

"  Then  they  were  both  troubled,  and  fell  upon 
their  faces  :  for  they  feared  God.  But  he  said  unto 
them,  '  Fear  not,  for  it  shall  go  well  with  you  ; 
praise  God  therefore.  For  not  of  any  favor  of 
mine,  but  by  the  will  of  our  God  I  came ;  wherefore 
praise  him  for  ever.  All  these  days  I  did  appear 
unto  you ;  but  I  did  neither  eat  nor  drink,  but  ye 
did  see  a  vision.  Now  therefore  give  God  thanks  : 
for  I  go  up  to  him  that  sent  me.' :  "  And  when 
they  arose,  they  saw  him  no  more." 

The  picture  shows  us  the  moment  when  the  angel 
suddenly  rises  from  the  midst  of  the  little  company 
and  strikes  out  on  his  flight  through  the  air  like  a 
strong  swimmer.  Tobit  and  Tobias  fall  on  their 
knees  without,  while  Anna  and  the  bride  Sara  stand 
in  the  open  door  with  the  frightened  little  dog 
cowering  beside  them.  The  older  people  are  over- 
come with  wonder  and  awe,  but  Tobias  and  Sara, 
more  bold,  follow  the  radiant  vision  with  rapturous 
gaze. 


IV 

THE    RAT   KILLER 

The  pictures  we  have  examined  thus  far  in  this 
collection  have  been  reproductions  from  Rem- 
brandt's paintings.  You  will  see  at  once  that  the 
picture  of  the  Rat  Killer  is  of  another  kind.  The 
figures  and  objects  are  indicated  by  lines  instead  of 
by  masses  of  color.  You  would  call  it  a  drawing, 
and  it  is  in  fact  a  drawing  of  one  kind,  but  properly 
speaking,  an  etching.  An  etching  is  a  drawing 
made  on  copper  by  means  of  a  needle.  The  etcher 
first  covers  the  surface  of  the  metal  with  a  layer  of 
some  waxy  substance  and  draws  his  picture  through 
this  coating,  or  "  etching  ground,"  as  it  is  called. 
Next  he  immerses  the  copper  plate  in  an  acid  bath 
which  "  bites,"  or  grooves,  the  metal  along  the 
lines  he  has  drawn  without  affecting  the  parts  pro- 
tected by  the  etching  ground. 

The  plate  thus  has  a  picture  cut  into  its  surface, 
and  impressions  of  this  picture  may  be  taken  by  fill- 
ing the  lines  with  ink  and  pressing  wet  paper  to  the 
surface  of  the  plate.  You  will  notice  that  the  dif- 
ference between  the  work  of  an  engraver  and  that  of 
an  etcher  is  that  the  former  cuts  the  lines  in  his  plate 
with  engraving  tools,  while  the  latter  only  draws 
his  picture  on  the  plate  and  the  acid  cuts  the  lines. 


20  REMBRANDT 

The  word  etching  is  derived  from  the  Dutch  etzen, 
and  the  most  famous  etchers  in  the  world  have  been 
among:  Dutch  and  German  artists. 

Rembrandt  is  easily  first  of  these,  and  we  should 
have  but  a  limited  idea  of  his  work  if  we  did  not 
examine  some  of  his  pictures  of  this  kind.  Impres- 
sions made  directly  from  the  original  plates,  over 
two  centuries  ago,  are,  of  course,  very  rare  and 
valuable,  and  are  carefully  preserved  in  the  great 
libraries  and  museums  of  the  world.  There  is  a 
collection  in  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Boston, 
where  this  etching  of  the  Rat  Killer  may  be  seen. 

The  Rat  Killer  is  one  of  many  subjects  from  the 
scenes  of  common  life  which  surrounded  the  artist. 
In  smaller  towns  and  villages,  then  as  well  as  now, 
there  were  no  large  shops  where  goods  were  to  be 
bought.  Instead,  all  sorts  of  peddlers  and  traveling 
mechanics  went  from  house  to  house  —  the  knife 
grinder,  the  ragman,  the  fiddler,  and  many  others. 
This  picture  of  the  Rat  Killer  suggests  a  very  odd 
occupation.  The  pest  of  rats  is,  of  course,  much 
greater  in  old  than  in  new  countries.  In  Europe, 
and  perhaps  particularly  in  the  northern  countries 
of  Holland  and  Germany,  the  old  towns  and  villages 
have  long  been  infested  with  these  troublesome 
creatures. 

There  are  some  curious  legends  about  them.  One 
relates  how  a  certain  Bishop  Hatto,  as  a  judgment 
for  his  sins,  was  attacked  by  an  army  of  rats  which 
swam  across  the  Rhine  and  invaded  him  in  his 
island  tower,  where  they  made  short  work  of  their 


Photographed  from  original  etching 


John  Andrew  i-  Son, 


THE    RAT    KILLER 
Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Boston 


THE  RAT  KILLER  23 

victim.1  Another  tells  how  a  town  called  Hamelin 
was  overrun  with  rats  until  a  magic  piper  appeared 
who  so  charmed  them  with  his  enchanted  music  that 
they  gathered  about  him  and  followed  his  leading 
till  they  came  to  the  river  and  were  drowned.2 

The  old  Rat  Killer  in  the  picture  looks  suspi- 
ciously like  a  magician.  It  seems  as  if  he  must 
have  bewitched  the  rats  which  crawl  friskily  about 
him,  one  perching  on  his  shoulders.  He  reminds 
one  of  some  ogre  out  of  a  fairy  tale,  with  his 
strange  tall  cap,  his  kilted  coat,  and  baggy  trousers, 
the  money  pouch  at  his  belt,  the  fur  mantle  flung 
over  one  shoulder,  and  the  fierce-looking  sword 
dangling  at  his  side.  But  there  is  no  magic  in 
his  way  of  killing  rats.  He  has  some  rat  poison 
to  sell  which  his  apprentice,  a  miserable  little  crea- 
ture, carries  in  a  large  box. 

The  picture  gives  us  an  idea  of  an  old  Dutch 
village  street.  The  cottages  are  built  very  low, 
with  steep  overhanging  roofs.  The  walls  are  of 
thick  masonry,  for  these  were  days  when  in  small 
villages  and  outlying  districts  "  every  man's  house 
was  his  castle,"  that  is,  every  man's  house  was  in- 
tended, first  of  all,  as  a  place  of  defense  against 
outlawry. 

The  entrance  doors  were  made  in  two  sections, 
an  upper  and  a  lower  part,  or  wing,  each  swinging 
on  its  own  hinges.  Whenever  a  knock  came,  the 
householder  could  open  the  upper  wing  and  address 

1  See  Southey's  poem,  Bishop  Hatto. 

2  See  Browning's  poem,  The  Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin. 


24  REMBRANDT 

the  caller  as  through  a  window,  first  learning  who 
he  was  and  what  his  errand,  before  opening  the 
lower  part  to  admit  him.  Thus  an  unwelcome  in- 
truder could  not  press  his  way  into  the  house  by  the 
door's  being  opened  at  his  knock,  and  the  family 
need  not  be  taken  unawares.  In  many  of  our  mod- 
ern houses  we  see  doors  made  after  the  same  plan, 
and  known  as  "  Dutch  doors." 

The  cautious  old  man  in  the  picture  has  no  inten- 
tion of  being  imposed  upon  by  wandering  fakirs. 
He  has  opened  only  the  upper  door  and  leans  on 
the  lower  wing,  as  on  a  gate,  while  he  listens  to  the 
Rat  Killer's  story.  The  latter  must  have  a  marvel- 
lous tale  to  tell  of  the  effects  of  the  poison,  from  the 
collection  of  dead  rats  which  he  carries  as  trophies 
in  the  basket  fastened  to  the  long  pole  in  his  hand. 
But  the  householder  impatiently  pushes  his  hand 
back,  and  turns  away  as  if  with  disgust.  The 
apprentice,  grotesque  little  rat  himself,  looks  up 
rather  awestruck  at  this  grand,  turbaned  figure 
above  him. 


THE    PHILOSOPHER    IN    MEDITATION 

Ever  since  the  beginning  of  human  history  there 
have  been  people  who  puzzled  their  brains  about  the 
reasons  of  things.  Why  things  are  as  they  are, 
whence  we  came,  and  whither  we  are  going  are  some 
of  the  perplexing  questions  they  have  tried  to 
answer.  Some  men  have  given  all  their  lives  to  the 
study  of  these  problems  as  a  single  occupation  or 
profession.  Among  the  ancient  Greeks,  who  were  a 
very  intellectual  nation,  such  men  were  quite  numer- 
ous and  were  held  in  great  esteem  as  teachers. 
They  were  called  philosophers,  that  is,  lovers  of 
wisdom,  and  this  word  has  been  passed  down  to  our 
own  times  in  various  modern  languages. 

In  the  passing  of  the  centuries  men  found  more 
and  more  subjects  to  think  about.  Some  studied 
the  movements  of  the  stars  and  tried  to  discover  if 
they  had  any  influence  in  human  affairs.  These  men 
were  called  astrologers,  and  they  drew  plans,  known 
as  horoscopes,  mapping  out  the  future  destiny  of 
persons  as  revealed  by  the  position  of  the  constella- 
tions. There  were  other  men  who  examined  the 
various  substances  of  which  the  earth  is  composed, 
putting  them  together  to  make  new  things.  These 
were  alchemists,  and  their  great  ambition  was  to 


26  REMBRANDT 

find  some  preparation  which  would  change  baser 
metals  into  gold.  This  hoped-for  preparation  was 
spoken  of  as  the  "  philosopher's  stone." 

Now  modern  learning  has  changed  these  vague 
experiments  into  exact  science ;  astronomy  has  re- 
placed astrology,  and  chemistry  has  taken  the  place  of 
alchemy.  Nevertheless  these  changes  were  brought 
about  only  very  gradually,  and  in  the  17th  century, 
when  Rembrandt  lived  and  painted  this  picture,  a 
great  stir  was  made  by  the  new  ideas  of  astronomy 
taught  by  Galileo  in  Italy,  and  the  new  discoveries 
in  chemistry  made  by  Van  Helmont  in  Belgium. 
Many  philosophers  still  held  to  the  old  beliefs  of 
astrology  and  alchemy. 

It  is  not  likely  that  Rembrandt  had  any  one 
philosopher  in  mind  as  the  subject  of  his  picture. 
That  his  philosopher  is  something  of  a  scholar,  we 
judge  from  the  table  at  which  he  sits,  littered  with 
writing  materials.  Yet  he  seems  to  care  less  for 
reading  than  for  thinking,  as  he  sits  with  hands 
clasped  in  his  lap  and  his  head  sunk  upon  his  breast. 
He  wears  a  loose,  flowing  garment  like  a  dressing- 
gown,  and  his  bald  head  is  protected  by  a  small 
skull  cap.  His  is  an  ideal  place  for  a  philosopher's 
musings.  The  walls  are  so  thick  that  they  shut  out 
all  the  confusing  noise  of  the  world.  A  single 
window  lets  in  light  enough  to  read  by  through  its 
many  tiny  panes.  It  is  a  bare  little  room,  to  be  sure, 
with  its  ungarnished  walls  and  stone-paved  floor, 
but  if  a  philosopher  has  the  ordinary  needs  of  life 
supplied  he  wants  no  luxuries.    He  asks  for  nothing 


THE  PHILOSOPHER  IN  MEDITATION  29 

more  than  quiet  and  uninterrupted  leisure  in  which 
to  pursue  his  meditations. 

Our  philosopher  is  well  taken  care  of ;  for  while 
his  thoughts  are  on  higher  things  and  eternal  truths, 
an  old  woman  is  busy  at  the  fire  in  the  corner. 
Evidently  she  looks  after  the  material  and  temporal 
things  of  life.  She  kneels  on  the  hearth  and  hangs 
a  kettle  over  the  cheerful  blaze.  The  firelight  glows 
on  her  face  and  gleams  here  and  there  on  the  brasses 
hanging  in  the  chimney-piece  above.  Here  is  promise 
of  something  good  to  come,  and  when  the  philoso- 
pher is  roused  from  his  musings  there  will  be  a  hot 
supper  ready  for  him. 

There  are  two  mysteries  in  the  room  which  arouse 
our  curiosity.  In  the  wall  behind  the  philosopher's 
chair  is  a  low,  arched  door  heavily  built  with  large 
hinges.  Does  this  lead  to  some  subterranean  cavern, 
and  what  secret  does  it  contain  ?  Is  it  a  laboratory 
where,  with  alembic  and  crucible,  the  philosopher 
searches  the  secrets  of  alchemy  and  tries  to  find  the 
"philosopher's  stone  ?  "  Is  some  hid  treasure  stored 
up  there,  as  precious  and  as  hard  to  reach  as  the 
hidden  truths  the  philosopher  tries  to  discover  ? 

At  the  right  side  of  the  room  a  broad,  winding 
staircase  rises  in  large  spirals  and  disappears  in  the 
gloom  above.  We  follow  it  with  wondering  eyes 
which  try  to  pierce  the  darkness  and  see  whither  it 
leads.  Perhaps  there  is  an  upper  chamber  with 
windows  open  to  the  sky  whence  the  philosopher 
studies  the  stars.  This  place  with  its  winding  stair- 
case would  be  just  such  an  observatory  as  an  astro- 


30  REMBRANDT 

loger  would  like.  Indeed  it  suggests  at  once  the 
tower  on  the  hillside  near  Florence  where  Galileo 
passed  his  declining  years. 

Our  philosopher,  too,  is  an  old  man ;  his  hair  has 
been  whitened  by  many  winters,  his  face  traced  over 
with  many  lines  of  thought.  Even  if  his  problems 
have  not  all  been  solved  he  has  found  rich  satisfac- 
tion in  his  thinking ;  the  end  of  his  meditations  is 
peace.  The  day  is  drawing  to  a  close.  The  waning 
light  falls  through  the  window  and  illumines  the 
philosopher's  venerable  face.  It  throws  the  upper 
spiral  of  the  stairway  into  bold  relief,  and  brings  out 
all  the  beautiful  curves  in  its  structure.  The  bare 
little  room  is  transfigured.  This  is  indeed  a  fit 
dwelling-place  for  a  philosopher  whose  thoughts, 
penetrating  dark  mysteries,  are  at  last  lighted  by 
some  gleams  of  the  ideal. 


VI 

THE   GOOD    SAMARITAN 

The  story  of  the  Good  Samaritan  was  related  by 
Jesus  to  a  certain  lawyer  as  a  parable,  that  is,  a 
story  to  teach  a  moral  lesson.  The  object  was  to 
show  what  was  true  neighborly  conduct ;  and  this 
was  the  story  : 1  — 

"  A  certain  man  went  down  from  Jerusalem  to 
Jericho,  and  fell  among  thieves,  which  stripped  him 
of  his  raiment,  and  wounded  him,  and  departed, 
leaving  him  half  dead.  And  by  chance  there  came 
down  a  certain  priest  that  way ;  and  when  he  saw 
him,  he  passed  by  on  the  other  side.  And  likewise 
a  Levite,  when  he  was  at  the  place,  came  and  looked 
on  him,  and  passed  by  on  the  other  side. 

"  But  a  certain  Samaritan,  as  he  journeyed,  came 
where  he  was :  and  when  he  saw  him,  he  had  com- 
passion on  him,  and  went  to  him,  and  bound  up  his 
wounds,  pouring  in  oil  and  wine,  and  set  him  on 
his  own  beast,  and  brought  him  to  an  inn,  and  took 
care  of  him.  And  on  the  morrow  when  he  departed, 
he  took  out  two  pence,  and  gave  them  to  the  host, 
and  said  unto  him,  '  Take  care  of  him ;  and  whatso- 
ever thou  spendest  more,  when  I  come  again  I  will 
repay  thee.'  " 

1  St.  Luke,  chapter  x.  verses  30-37. 


32  REMBRANDT 

The  point  of  the  story  is  very  plain,  and  when 
Jesus  asked  the  lawyer  which  one  of  the  three  pas- 
sers-by was  a  neighbor  to  the  wounded  man,  he  was 
forced  to  reply,  "  He  that  shewed  mercy.' '  Then 
said  Jesus  simply,  "  Go,  and  do  thou  likewise." 

Though  the  scene  of  the  story  is  laid  in  Pales- 
tine, it  is  the  sort  of  incident  which  one  can  imagine 
taking  place  in  any  country  or  period  of  time.  So 
it  seems  perfectly  proper  that  Rembrandt,  in  repre- 
senting the  subject,  should  show  us  an  old  Dutch 
scene.  The  etching  illustrates  that  moment  when 
the  Good  Samaritan  arrives  at  the  inn,  followed  by 
the  wounded  traveler  mounted  on  his  horse. 

The  building  is  a  quaint  piece  of  architecture  with 
arched  doors  and  windows.  That  it  was  built  with 
an  eye  to  possible  attacks  from  thieves  and  outlaws, 
we  may  see  from  the  small  windows  and  thick  walls 
of  masonry,  which  make  it  look  like  a  miniature  for- 
tress. This  is  a  lonely  spot,  and  inns  are  few  and 
far  between.  The  plaster  is  cracking  and  crum- 
bling from  the  surface,  and  the  whole  appearance  of 
the  place  does  not  betoken  great  thrift  on  the  part 
of  the  owners.  On  the  present  occasion,  during  the 
working  hours  of  the  day,  doors  and  windows  are 
open  after  the  hospitable  manner  of  an  inn. 

The  host  stands  in  the  doorway,  greeting  the 
strangers,  and  the  Good  Samaritan  is  explaining 
the  situation  to  him.  In  the  mean  time  the  inn  ser- 
vants have  come  forward  :  the  hostler's  boy  holds 
the  horse  by  the  bridle,  while  a  man  lifts  off  the 
wounded  traveler. 


Photographed  from  original  etching 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  Sc. 


THE   GOOD    SAMARITAN 
Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Boston 


THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN  35 

About  the  dooryard  are  the  usual  signs  of  lifa 
In  the  rear  a  woman  draws  water  from  a  well,  lower- 
ing the  bucket  from  the  end  of  a  long  well-sweep, 
heedless  of  the  stir  about  the  door.  Fowl  scratch 
about  in  search  of  food,  and  there  is  a  dog  at  one 
side.  Some  one  within  looks  with  idle  curiosity 
from  the  window  into  the  yard.  It  is  little  touches 
like  these  which  give  the  scene  such  vividness  and 
reality. 

There  is  also  a  remarkable  expressiveness  in  the 
figures  which  tells  the  story  at  a  glance.  You  can 
see  just  what  the  Good  Samaritan  is  saying,  as  he 
gestures  with  his  left  hand,  and  you  can  guess  the 
inn-keeper's  reply.  Already  he  has  put  the  prof- 
fered money  into  the  wallet  he  carries  at  his  belt, 
and  listens  attentively  to  the  orders  given  him.  He 
may  privately  wonder  at  his  guest's  singular  kind- 
ness to  a  stranger,  but  with  him  business  is  business, 
and  his  place  is  to  carry  out  his  guest's  wishes. 

You  see  how  the  hostler's  boy  magnifies  his  office, 
swaggering  with  legs  wide  apart.  Even  the  feather 
in  his  cap  bristles  with  importance.  This  bit  of 
comedy  contrasts  with  the  almost  tragic  expression 
of  the  wounded  man.  The  stolid  fellow  who  lifts 
him  seems  to  hurt  him  very  much,  and  he  clasps  his 
hands  in  an  agony  of  pain.  He  seems  to  be  telling 
the  gentleman  at  the  window  of  his  recent  misfor- 
tune. 

To  study  the  picture  more  critically,  it  will  be 
interesting  to  notice  how  the  important  figures  are 
massed  together  in  the  centre,  and  how  the  compo- 


36  REMBRANDT 

sition  is  built  into  a  pyramid.  Draw  a  line  from 
the  inn-keeper's  head  down  the  stairway  at  the  left, 
and  follow  the  outline  of  the  Good  Samaritan's 
right  shoulder  along  the  body  of  the  wounded 
traveler,  and  you  have  the  figure.  This  pyramidal 
form  is  emphasized  again  by  the  wainscot  of  the 
stairway  at  the  left,  and  the  well-sweep  at  the  right. 
To  appreciate  fully  the  character  of  the  etching, 
one  must  examine  attentively  all  the  different  kinds 
of  lines  which  produce  the  varying  effects  of  light 
and  shadow.  Below  the  picture  Rembrandt  wrote 
his  name  and  the  date  1633,  with  two  Latin  words 
meaning  that  he  designed  and  etched  the  plate  him- 
self. This  would  seem  to  show  that  he  was  well 
pleased  with  his  work,  and  it  is  interesting  to  learn 
that  the  great  German  poet,  Goethe,  admired  the 
composition  extravagantly. 


VII 

THE   PRESENTATION    IN    THE   TEMPLE 

The  story  which  the  picture  of  the  Presentation 
illustrates  is  a  story  of  the  infancy  of  Jesus  Christ. 
According  to  the  custom  of  the  Jews  at  that  time, 
every  male  child  was  "  presented/'  or  dedicated,  to 
the  Lord  when  about  a  month  old.  Jesus  was  born 
in  Bethlehem  of  Judsea,  a  small  town  about  four 
miles  from  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  the  Jewish  capital, 
where  the  temple  was.  When  he  was  about  a 
month  old,  his  mother  Mary  and  her  husband  Jo- 
seph, who  were  devout  Jews,  brought  him  to  the 
great  city  for  the  ceremony  of  the  presentation  in 
the  temple.  Now  the  temple  was  a  great  place  of 
worship  where  many  religious  ceremonies  were  taking 
place  all  the  time. 

Ordinarily,  a  party  coming  up  from  the  country 
for  some  religious  observance  would  not  attract  any 
special  attention  among  the  worshippers.  But  on 
the  day  when  the  infant  Jesus  was  presented  in  the 
temple,  a  very  strange  thing  occurred.  The  evan- 
gelist St.  Luke1  relates  the  circumstances. 

"  And  behold,  there  was  a  man  in  Jerusalem  whose 
name  was  Simeon ;  and  the  same  man  was  just  and 
devout,  waiting  for  the  consolation  of  Israel :  and 
1  St.  Luke*  chapter  ii.  verses  25-35. 


38  REMBRANDT 

the  Holy  Ghost  was  upon  him.  And  it  was  revealed 
unto  him  by  the  Holy  Ghost  that  he  should  not  see 
death,  before  he  had  seen  the  Lord's  Christ.  And 
he  came  by  the  Spirit  into  the  temple  :  and  when 
the  parents  brought  in  the  child  Jesus,  to  do  for 
him  after  the  custom  of  the  law,  then  took  he  him 
up  in  his  arms,  and  blessed  God,  and  said,  Lord,  now 
lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  according 
to  thy  word :  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation 
which  thou  hast  prepared  before  the  face  of  all  peo- 
ple, a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles  and  the  glory  of 
thy  people  Israel. 

"  And  Joseph  and  his  mother  marveled  at  those 
things  which  were  spoken  of  him.  And  Simeon 
blessed  them,  and  said  unto  Mary  his  mother,  Behold 
this  child  is  set  for  the  fall  and  rising  again  of  many 
in  Israel ;  and  for  a  sign  which  shall  be  spoken 
against ;  that  the  thought  of  many  hearts  may  be 
revealed." 

In  the  picture  we  find  ourselves,  as  it  were,  among 
the  worshippers  in  the  temple,  looking  at  the  group 
on  the  pavement  in  front  of  us  —  Mary  and  Joseph 
and  Simeon,  kneeling  before  a  priest,  with  two  or 
three  onlookers.  It  is  a  Gothic  cathedral,  in  whose 
dim  recesses  many  people  move  hither  and  thither. 
At  the  right  is  a  long  flight  of  steps  leading  to  a 
throne,  which  is  overshadowed  by  a  huge  canopy. 
At  the  top  of  the  steps  we  see  the  high  priest  seated 
with  hands  outstretched,  receiving  the  people  who 
throng  up  the  stairway.  It  was  towards  this  stair- 
way that  Mary  and  Joseph  were  making  their  way, 


Fr.  Hanfataengl,  Photo. 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  So. 


THE   PRESENTATION    IN    THE   TEMPLE 
The  Hague  Gallery 


THE  PRESENTATION  IN  THE  TEMPLE  41 

when  the  aged  Simeon  first  saw  them,  and  recog- 
nized in  the  child  they  carried  the  one  he  had  long 
expected.  Taking  the  babe  from  his  mother's  arms, 
he  kneels  on  the  marble-tiled  pavement  and  raises 
his  face  to  heaven  in  thanksgiving.  His  embroi- 
dered cymar,  or  robe,  falls  about  him  in  rich  folds 
as  he  clasps  his  arms  about  the  tiny  swaddled  figure. 

Mary  has  dropped  on  her  knees  beside  him,  lis- 
tening to  his  words  with  happy  wonder.  Joseph, 
just  beyond,  looks  on  with  an  expression  of  inquiry. 
He  carries  two  turtle  doves  as  the  thank  offering 
required  of  the  mother  by  the  religious  law.  His 
unkempt  appearance  and  bare  feet  contrast  with 
the  neat  dress  of  Mary.  The  tall  priest  standing 
before  them  extends  his  hands  towards  the  group  in 
a  gesture  of  benediction.  A  broad  ray  of  light 
gleams  on  his  strange  headdress,  lights  up  his  out- 
stretched hand,  and  falls  with  dazzling  brilliancy 
upon  the  soft  round  face  of  the  babe,  the  smiling 
mother,  and  the  venerable  Simeon  with  flowing 
white  hair  and  beard. 

There  are  but  few  people  to  pay  any  heed  to  the 
strange  incident.  Two  or  three  of  those  who  climb 
the  stairway  turn  about  and  stare  curiously  at  the 
group  below.  There  are  three  others  still  more  in- 
terested. One  man  behind  puts  his  turbaned  head 
over  Simeon's  shoulders,  peering  inquisitively  at  the 
child,  as  if  trying  to  see  what  the  old  man  finds  so 
remarkable  in  him.  Beyond,  two  old  beggars  ap- 
proach with  a  sort  of  good-natured  interest.  They 
are  quaintly  dressed,  one  of  them  wearing  a  very  tal] 


42  REMBRANDT 

cap.     Such  humble  folk  as  these  alone  seem  to  have 
time  to  notice  others'  affairs. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  this  scene  very 
closely  represents  the  actual  event  it  illustrates. 
The  painter  Rembrandt  knew  nothing  about  the 
architecture  of  the  old  Jewish  temple  destroyed 
many  centuries  before.  A  Gothic  cathedral  was  the 
finest  house  of  worship  known  to  him,  so  he  thought 
out  the  scene  as  it  would  look  in  such  surroundings. 
The  people  coming  and  going  were  such  as  he  saw 
about  him  daily ;  the  beggars  looking  at  the  Christ- 
child  were  the  beggars  of  Amsterdam,  and  the  men 
seated  in  the  wooden  settle  at  the  right  were  like 
the  respectable  Dutch  burghers  of  his  aquaintance. 
It  was  like  translating  the  story  from  Aramaic  to 
Dutch,  but  in  the  process  nothing  is  lost  of  its 
original  touching  beauty. 

In  studying  the  picture,  you  must  notice  how 
carefully  all  the  figures  are  painted,  even  the  very 
small  ones  in  the  darkest  parts  of  the  composition. 
The  beautiful  contrast,  between  the  light  on  the 
central  group  and  the  soft  dimness  of  the  remoter 
parts  of  the  cathedral,  illustrates  a  style  of  work  for 
which  Rembrandt  was  very  famous,  and  which  we 
shall  often  see  in  his  pictures. 


VIII 

CHRIST    PREACHING 

We  read  in  the  evangelists'  record  of  the  life  of 
Jesus  that  he  went  about  the  country  preaching  the 
gospel  (or  the  good  news)  of  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven.  Sometimes  he  preached  in  the  synagogue 
on  the  Sabbath  day ;  but  more  often  he  talked  to 
the  people  in  the  open  air,  sometimes  on  the  moun- 
tain-side., sometimes  on  the  shore  of  the  lake  Gen- 
nesaret,  or  again  in  the  streets  of  their  towns. 

The  scribes  and  Pharisees  were  jealous  of  his 
popularity,  and  angry  because  he  exposed  their 
hypocrisy.  The  proud  and  rich  found  many  of  his 
sayings  too  hard  to  accept,  So  it  was  the  poor 
and  unhappy  who  were  most  eager  to  hear  him, 
and  they  often  formed  a  large  part  of  his  audience. 
Jesus  himself  rejoiced  in  this  class  of  followers,  and 
when  John  the  Baptist's  messengers  came  to  him  to 
inquire  into  his  mission,  he  sent  back  the  message, 
"  The  poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them." 

In  this  picture  of  Christ  Preaching,  we  see  that 
his  hearers  are  of  just  the  kind  that  the  preacher's 
message  is  intended  for,  —  the  weary  and  heavy- 
laden  whom  he  called  to  himself.  There  are  a  few 
dignitaries  in  the  gathering,  it  is  true,  standing 
pompously  by  in  the  hope  of  finding  something  to 


44  REMBRANDT 

criticise.  But  Jesus  pays  no  attention  to  them  as  he 
looks  down  into  the  faces  of  the  listeners  who  most 
need  his  words.  His  pulpit  is  a  square  coping-stone 
in  a  courtyard,  and  the  people  gather  about  him  in 
a  circle  in  the  positions  most  convenient  to  them. 

There  is  no  formality  here,  no  ceremony ;  each 
one  may  come  and  go  as  he  pleases.  Here  is  a 
mother  sitting  on  the  ground  directly  in  front  of 
the  speaker,  holding  a  babe  in  her  arms,  while  a 
little  fellow  sprawls  out  on  the  ground  beside  her, 
drawing  on  the  sand  with  his  finger.  Though  we 
cannot  see  her  face,  we  know  that  she  is  an  absorbed 
listener,  and  Jesus  seems  to  speak  directly  to  her. 

A  pathetic-looking  man  beyond  her  is  trying  to 
take  in  the  message  in  a  wondering  way,  and  a 
long-bearded  man  behind  him  is  so  aroused  that  he 
leans  eagerly  forward  to  catch  every  word.  There 
are  others,  as  is  always  the  case,  who  listen  very 
stolidly  as  if  quite  indifferent. 

Again  there  are  two  who  ponder  the  subject 
thoughtfully.  One  of  these  is  in  the  rear,  —  a 
young  man,  perhaps  one  of  Jesus'  disciples  ;  the 
other  sits  in  front,  crossing  his  legs,  and  support- 
ing his  chin  with  his  hand.  In  the  group  at  the 
right  of  Jesus  we  can  easily  pick  out  the  scoffers 
and  critics,  listening  intently,  some  of  them  more 
interested,  perhaps,  than  they  had  expected  to  be. 

As  we  look  at  Jesus  himself,  so  gentle  and  tender, 
raising  both  hands  as  if  to  bless  the  company,  we 
feel  sure  that  he  is  speaking  some  message  of  com- 
fort.    One  day  when  he  was  reading  the  Scriptures 


S     =Q 


CHRIST  PREACHING  47 

in  the  synagogue  at  Capernaum,  he  selected  a  pas- 
sage which  described  his  own  work,  and  which  per- 
fectly applies  to  this  picture.  We  can  imagine  that 
he  is  saying :  "  The  spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon 
me ;  because  the  Lord  hath  anointed  me  to  preach 
good  tidings  unto  the  meek;  he  hath  sent  me  to 
bind  up  the  brokenhearted,  to  proclaim  liberty  to 
the  captives,  and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them 
that  are  bound ;  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of 
the  Lord,  and  the  day  of  vengeance  of  our  God ;  to 
comfort  all  that  mourn  ;  to  appoint  unto  them  that 
mourn  in  Zion,  to  give  unto  them  beauty  for  ashes, 
the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  the  garment  of  praise 
for  the  spirit  of  heaviness.' ' 

It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  the  figures  in  this 
picture  of  Christ  preaching  are  Dutch  types.  If  you 
think  that  this  is  a  strange  way  to  illustrate  scenes 
which  took  place  in  Palestine  many  centuries  ago, 
you  must  remember  that  the  picture  was  drawn  by 
a  Dutchman  who  knew  nothing  of  Palestine,  and  in- 
deed little  of  any  country  outside  his  own  Holland. 
He  wished  to  make  the  life  of  Christ  seem  real  and 
vivid  to  his  own  countrymen  ;  and  the  only  way  he 
could  do  this  was  to  represent  the  scenes  in  the  sur- 
roundings most  familiar  to  himself  and  to  them.  The 
artist  was  simply  trying  to  imagine  what  Jesus  would 
do  if  he  had  come  to  Amsterdam  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  instead  of  to  Jerusalem  in  the  first  century  ; 
somewhat  as  certain  modern  writers  have  tried  to  think 
what  would  take  place  "  If  Jesus  came  to  Chicago," 
or  "  If  Jesus  came  to  Boston,"  in  the  nineteenth  cen* 


48  REMBRANDT 

tury.  The  sweet  gentleness  in  the  face  of  Christ 
and  the  eager  attention  of  the  people  show  how  well 
Rembrandt  understood  the  real  meaning  of  the  New 
Testament. 

This  picture  is  worthy  of  very  special  study  be- 
cause it  is  reckoned  by  critics  one  of  the  best  of 
Rembrandt's  etchings.  One  enthusiastic  writer1 
says  that  "  the  full  maturity  of  his  genius  is  ex- 
pressed in  every  feature."  One  must  know  a  great 
deal  about  the  technical  processes  of  etching  to 
appreciate  fully  all  these  excellencies ;  but  even  an 
inexperienced  eye  can  see  how  few  and  simple  are 
the  lines  which  produce  such  striking  effects  of  light 
and  shadow  :  a  scratch  or  two  here,  a  few  parallel 
lines  drawn  diagonally  there ;  some  coarse  cross- 
hatching  in  one  place,  closer  hatching  in  another ; 
now  and  then  a  spot  of  the  black  ink  itself,  —  and 
the  whole  scene  is  made  alive,  with  Jesus  stand- 
ing in  the  midst,  the  light  gleaming  full  upon  his 
figure. 

1  Michel. 


IX 

CHRIST   AT    EMMAUS 

The  picture  of  Christ  at  Emmaus  illustrates  an 
event  in  the  narrative  of  Christ's  life  which  took 
place  on  the  evening  of  the  first  Easter  Sunday.  It 
was  now  three  days  since  the  Crucifixion  of  Christ 
just  outside  Jerusalem,  and  the  terrible  scene  was 
still  very  fresh  in  the  minds  of  his  disciples.  It 
happened  that  late  in  the  day  two  of  them  were 
going  to  a  village  called  Emmaus,  not  very  far  from 
Jerusalem. 

They  made  the  journey  on  foot,  and  as  they 
walked  along  the  way,  "they  talked  together,''  says 
the  evangelist *  who  tells  the  story,  "  of  all  those 
things  which  had  happened.  And  it  came  to  pass, 
that,  while  they  communed  together  and  reasoned, 
Jesus  himself  drew  near,  and  went  with  them.  But 
their  eyes  were  holden  that  they  should  not  know 
him.  And  he  said  unto  them,  c  What  manner  of 
communications  are  these  that  ye  have  one  to  an- 
other, as  ye  walk,  and  are  sad  ? '  And  the  one  of 
them,  whose  name  was  Cleopas,  answering  said  unto 
him,  'Art  thou  only  a  stranger  in  Jerusalem,  and 
hast  not  known  the  things  which  are  come  to  pass 
there  in  these  days?'     And   he  said  unto  them, 

1  St.  Luke,  chapter  xxiv.  verses  13-32. 


50  REMBRANDT 

1  What  things  ?'  And  they  said  unto  him, i  Concern- 
ing Jesus  of  Nazareth.' '  Then  followed  a  conver- 
sation in  which  they  told  the  stranger  something  of 
Jesus,  and  he  in  turn  explained  to  them  many 
things  about  the  life  and  character  of  Jesus  which 
they  had  never  understood. 

"  And  they  drew  nigh  unto  the  village,  whither 
they  went :  and  he  made  as  though  he  would  have 
gone  further.  But  they  constrained  him,  saying, 
i  Abide  with  us :  for  it  is  toward  evening,  and  the 
day  is  far  spent.'  And  he  went  in  to  tarry  with 
them. 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  sat  at  meat  with  them, 
he  took  bread,  and  blessed  it,  and  brake,  and  gave 
to  them.  And  their  eyes  were  opened  and  they 
knew  him ;  and  he  vanished  out  of  their  sight. 
And  they  said  one  to  another,  '  Did  not  our  hearts 
burn  within  us,  while  he  talked  with  us  by  the 
way?'" 

The  picture  suggests  vividly  to  us  that  wonderful 
moment  at  Emmaus  when  the  eyes  of  the  disciples 
were  opened,  and  they  recognized  their  guest  as 
Jesus,  whom  they  had  so  recently  seen  crucified. 
The  table  is  laid  in  a  great  bare  room  with  the  com- 
monest furnishings,  and  the  disciples  appear  to  be 
laboring  men,  accustomed  to  "  plain  living  and  high 
thinking."  They  are  coarsely  dressed,  and  their 
feet  are  bare,  as  are  also  the  feet  of  Jesus.  One 
seems  to  have  grasped  the  situation  more  quickly 
than  the  other,  for  he  folds  his  hands  together, 
reverently  gazing  directly  into  the  face  of  Jesus. 


Maison  Ad.  Braun  &  Cie.,  fhoto. 


CHRIST    AT    EMMAUS 
The  Louvre,  Paris 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  Sc. 


CHRIST  AT  EMMAUS  53 

His  companion,  an  older  man,  at  the  other  end  of 
the  table,  looks  up  astonished  and  mystified.  The 
boy  who  is  bringing  food  to  the  table  is  busy  with 
his  task,  and  does  not  notice  any  change  in  Jesus. 

In  the  midst  is  Christ,  "  pale,  emaciated,  sitting 
facing  us,  breaking  the  bread  as  on  the  evening  of 
the  Last  Supper,  in  his  pilgrim  robe,  with  his  black- 
ened lips,  on  which  the  torture  has  left  its  traces, 
his  great  brown  eyes  soft,  widely  opened,  and 
raised  towards  heaven,  with  his  cold  nimbus,  a  sort 
of  phosphorescence  around  him  which  envelops  him 
in  an  indefinable  glory,  and  that  inexplicable  look 
of  a  breathing  human  being  who  certainly  has 
passed  through  death." 

This  description  is  by  a  celebrated  French  critic,1 
himself  a  painter,  who  knows  whereof  he  speaks. 
He  says  that  this  picture  alone  is  enough  to  estab- 
lish the  reputation  of  a  man. 

There  is  one  artistic  quality  in  the  picture  to 
which  we  must  pay  careful  attention,  as  it  is  particu- 
larly characteristic  of  Rembrandt.  This  is  the  way 
in  which  the  light  and  shadow  are  arranged,  or  what 
a  critic  would  call  the  chiaroscuro  of  the  picture. 
The  heart  of  the  composition  glows  with  a  golden 
light  which  comes  from  some  unseen  source.  It 
falls  on  the  white  tablecloth  with  a  dazzling  bril- 
liancy as  if  from  some  bright  lamp.  It  gleams  on 
the  faces  of  the  company,  bringing  out  their  expres- 
sions clearly.  The  arched  recess  behind  the  table 
is  thrown  into  heavy  shadow,  against  which  the  cen- 
trally lighted  group  is  sharply  contrasted. 

1  Fromentin,  in  Old  Masters  of  Belgium  and  Holland. 


54  REMBRANDT 

This  singular  manner  of  bringing  light  and  dark- 
ness into  striking  opposition  makes  the  objects  in 
a  picture  stand  out  very  vividly.  Some  one  has 
defined  chiaroscuro  as  the  "  art  of  rendering  the 
atmosphere  visible  and  of  painting  an  object  envel- 
oped in  air."  The  art  was  carried  to  perfection 
by  Rembrandt.  You  will  notice  it  more  or  less  in 
every  picture  of  this  collection,  but  nowhere  is  it 
more  appropriate  than  here,  where  the  appearance 
of  Christ,  as  the  source  of  light,  emphasizes  the 
mystery  of  the  event  and  makes  something  sacred 
of  this  common  scene. 

As  we  compare  this  picture  with  the  etching  of 
Christ  Preaching,  we  get  a  better  idea  of  Rem- 
brandt's aim  in  representing  Christ.  He  did  not 
try  to  make  his  face  beautiful  with  regular  classi- 
cal features,  after  the  manner  of  the  old  Italian 
painters.  He  did  not  even  think  it  necessary  to 
make  his  figure  grand  and  imposing.  Something 
still  better  Rembrandt  sought  to  put  into  his  pic- 
ture, and  this  was  a  gentle  expression  of  love. 


X 

PORTRAIT    OF   SASKIA 

We  should  have  but  a  very  imperfect  idea  of 
Rembrandt's  work  if  we  did  not  learn  something 
about  the  portraits  he  painted.  It  was  for  these 
that  he  was  most  esteemed  in  his  own  day,  being 
the  fashionable  portrait  painter  of  Amsterdam  at  a 
time  when  every  person  of  means  wished  to  have  his 
likeness  painted.  A  collection  of  his  works  of  this 
kind  would  almost  bring  back  again  the  citizens 
of  Amsterdam  in  the  seventeenth  century,  so  life- 
like are  these  wonderful  canvases.  Among  them 
we  should  find  the  various  members  of  his  family, 
his  father  and  mother,  his  sister,  his  servant,  his 
son,  and  most  interesting  of  all,  his  beloved  wife, 
Saskia. 

Saskia  was  born  in  Friesland,  one  of  nine  chil- 
dren of  a  wealthy  patrician  family.  Her  father, 
Rombertus  van  Uylenborch,  was  a  distinguished 
lawyer,  who  had  had  several  important  political  mis- 
sions intrusted  to  him.  At  one  time  he  was  sent  as 
a  messenger  to  William  of  Orange,  and  was  sitting 
at  table  with  that  prince  just  before  his  assassina- 
tion. He  died  in  1624,  leaving  Saskia  an  orphan, 
as  she  had  lost  her  mother  five  years  before.  The 
little  girl  of  twelve  now  began  to  live  in  turn  with 


56  REMBRANDT 

her  married  sisters.  At  the  age  of  twenty  she  came 
to  Amsterdam  to  live  for  a  while  with  her  cousin, 
the  wife  of  a  minister,  Jan  Cornelis  Sylvius,  whose 
face  we  know  from  one  of  Rembrandt's  etchings. 
Saskia  had  also  another  cousin  living  in  Amsterdam, 
Hendrick  van  Uylenborch,  a  man  of  artistic  tastes, 
who  had  not  succeeded  as  a  painter,  and  had  become 
a  dealer  in  bric-a-brac  and  engravings.  He  was  an 
old  friend  of  Rembrandt;  and  when  the  young 
painter  came  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  great  city  in 
1631,  he  had  made  his  home  for  a  while  with  the 
art  dealer. 

It  was  doubtless  Hendrick  who  introduced  Rem- 
brandt to  Saskia.  Probably  the  beginning  of  their 
acquaintance  was  through  Rembrandt's  painting 
Saskia's  portrait  in  1632.  The  relation  between 
them  soon  grew  quite  friendly,  for  in  the  same  year 
the  young  girl  sat  two  or  three  times  again  to  the 
painter.  The  friendship  presently  ended  in  court- 
ship, and  when  Rembrandt  pressed  his  suit  the 
marriage  seemed  a  very  proper  one.  Saskia  was 
of  a  fine  family  and  had  a  sufficient  dowry. 

Rembrandt,  though  the  son  of  a  miller,  was 
already  a  famous  painter,  much  sought  after  for 
portraits,  and  with  a  promising  career  before  him. 
The  engagement  was  therefore  approved  by  her 
guardians,  but  marriage  being  deferred  till  she  came 
of  age,  the  courtship  lasted  two  happy  years.  Dur- 
ing this  time  Rembrandt  painted  his  lady  love  over 
and  over  again.  It  was  one  of  his  artistic  methods 
to  paint  the  same  person  many  times.     He  was  not 


Fr.  Hanfataengl,  Photo. 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  Sc. 


PORTRAIT    OF  SASKIA 
Cassel  Gallery 


PORTRAIT  OF  SASKIA  59 

one  of  the  superficial  painters  who  turn  constantly 
from  one  model  to  another  in  search  of  new  effects. 
He  liked  to  make  an  exhaustive  study  of  a  single 
face  in  many  moods,  with  many  expressions  and 
varied  by  different  costumes. 

Saskia  had  small  eyes  and  a  round  nose,  and  was 
not  at  all  beautiful  according  to  classical  standards. 
Rembrandt,  however,  cared  less  for  beauty  than  for 
expression,  and  Saskia's  face  was  very  expressive,  at 
times  merry  and  almost  roguish,  and  again  quite 
serious.  She  had  also  a  brilliant  complexion  and 
an  abundance  of  silky  hair,  waving  from  her  fore- 
head. The  painter  had  collected  in  his  studio  many 
pretty  and  fantastic  things  to  use  in  his  pictures, — 
velvets  and  gold  embroidered  cloaks,  Oriental  stuffs, 
laces,  necklaces,  and  jewels.  With  these  he  loved 
to  deck  Saskia,  heightening  her  girlish  charms  with 
the  play  of  light  upon  these  adornments. 

One  of  the  most  famous  of  the  many  portraits  of 
Saskia  at  this  time  is  the  picture  we  have  here. 
Because  it  is  not  signed  and  dated,  after  Rem- 
brandt's usual  custom,  it  is  thought  that  it  was  in- 
tended as  a  gift  for  Saskia  herself,  and  thus  it  has 
a  romantic  interest  for  us.  Also  it  is  painted  with 
extreme  care,  as  the  work  of  a  lover  offering  the 
choicest  fruit  of  his  art. 

The  artist  has  arranged  a  picturesque  costume  for 
his  sitter,  —  a  broad-brimmed  hat  of  red  velvet  with 
a  sweeping  white  feather,  an  elaborate  dress  with 
embroidered  yoke  and  full  sleeves,  a  rich  mantle 
draped  over  one  shoulder,  necklace,  earrings,  and 


60  REMBRANDT 

bracelets  of  pearls.  Her  expression  is  more  serious 
here  than  usual,  though  very  happy,  as  if  she  was 
thinking  of  her  lover ;  and  in  her  hand  she  carries 
a  sprig  of  rosemary,  which  in  Holland  is  the  symbol 
of  betrothal,  holding  it  near  her  heart. 

The  marriage  finally  took  place  in  June,  1634,  in 
the  town  of  Bildt.  The  bridal  pair  then  returned 
to  Amsterdam  to  a  happy  home  life.  Rembrandt 
had  no  greater  pleasure  than  in  the  quiet  family 
circle,  and  Saskia  had  a  simple  loving  nature,  en- 
tirely devoted  to  her  husband's  happiness.  A  few 
years  later  Rembrandt  moved  into  a  fine  house  in 
the  Breestraat,  which  he  furnished  richly  with  choice 
paintings  and  works  of  art. 

A  succession  of  portraits  shows  that  the  painter 
continued  to  paint  his  wife  with  loving  pride.  He 
represented  her  as  a  Jewish  bride,  as  Flora,  as  an 
Odalisque,  a  Judith,  a  Susanna,  and  a  Bathsheba. 
There  is  one  painting  of  the  husband  and  wife  to- 
gether, Saskia  perched  like  a  child  on  Rembrandt's 
knee,  as  he  flourishes  a  wine-glass  in  the  air.  In 
another  picture  (an  etching)  they  sit  together  at  a 
table  about  the  evening  lamp,  the  wife  with  her 
needle-work,  the  artist  with  his  engraving.  The 
love  between  them  is  the  brightest  spot  in  Rem- 
brandt's history,  clouded  as  it  was  with  many  dis- 
appointments and  troubles.  As  a  celebrated  writer 
has  expressed  it,  Saskia  was  "  a  ray  of  sunshine  in 
the  perpetual  chiaroscuro  of  his  life." 


XI 


THE   SORTIE   OF    THE   CIVIC    GUARD,   OR    THE   NIGHT 

WATCH 

The  patriotism  of  the  Dutch  is  seen  through  the 
entire  history  of  "  brave  little  Holland."  Early  in 
the  sixteenth  century  every  town  of  considerable 
size  had  a  military  company  composed  of  the  most 
prominent  citizens.  Each  company,  or  guild,  had  a 
place  of  assembly,  or  doelen,  and  a  drilling-ground. 
The  officers  were  chosen  for  a  year,  and  the  highest 
appointments  were  those  of  captain,  lieutenant,  and 
ensign.  Upon  these  civic  guards  rested  the  respon- 
sibility of  maintaining  the  order  and  safety  of  the 
town.  Sterner  duties  than  these  were  theirs  when 
in  the  late  sixteenth  century  (1573),  at  the  call  of 
William  of  Orange,  the  various  guilds  formed  them- 
selves into  volunteer  companies  to  resist  the  Spanish. 
How  well  they  acquitted  themselves  is  a  matter  of 
history,  and  Spain  recognized  the  republic  in  the 
treaty  of  1609.  After  the  war,  many  of  the  corpo- 
rations were  reorganized  and  continued  to  be  of 
great  importance  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  picture  we  have  here  represents  the  Civic 
Guard  of  Amsterdam  during  the  captaincy  of  Frans 
Banning  Cocq  in  1642.  Cocq  was  a  man  of  wealth 
and  influence  who  had  purchased  the  estate  of  Pur- 


62  REMBRANDT 

merland  in  1618  and  had  also  been  granted  a  pat- 
ent of  nobility.  So  it  was  natural  that  Lord  Pur- 
merland,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  citizens  of  the 
town,  should  be  called  to  a  term  of  office  as  captain 
of  the  Civic  Guard.  His  magnificent  stature  and 
manly  bearing  show  him  well  fitted  for  the  honor. 

The  picture  represents  an  occasion  when  the 
guard  issues  from  the  assembly  hall,  or  doelen,  in  a 
sudden  call  to  action.  Captain  Cocq  leads  the  way 
with  Lieutenant  Willem  van  Ruytenberg,  of  Vlaerd- 
ingen,  and  as  he  advances  gives  orders  to  his  fellow 
officer.  The  drum  beats,  the  ensign  unfurls  the 
standard,  every  man  carries  a  weapon  of  some  sort. 
One  is  priming  a  musket,  another  loading  his  gun, 
another  firing.  A  mass  of  lance-bearers  press  on 
from  the  rear.  In  the  confusion  a  dog  scampers 
into  the  midst  and  barks  furiously  at  the  drum.  A 
little  girl  slips  into  the  crowd  on  the  other  side, 
oddly  out  of  place  in  such  company,  but  quite  fear- 
less. It  has  been  suggested  that  she  may  have 
been  the  bearer  of  the  tidings  which  calls  the  guard 
forth.  The  quaint  figure  is  clad  in  a  long  dress  of 
some  shimmering  stuff,  and  she  has  the  air  of  a 
small  princess.  From  her  belt  hangs  a  cock,  and 
she  turns  her  face  admiringly  towards  the  great 
captain. 

We  do  not  know  of  any  historical  incident  which 
precisely  corresponds  to  the  action  in  the  picture. 
Indeed,  it  is  not  strictly  speaking  an  historical 
picture  at  all,  but  rather  a  portrait  group  of  the 
Civic  Guard,  in  attitudes  appropriate  to  their  char- 


THE  SORTIE  OF  THE  CIVIC  GUARD  65 

acter  as  a  military  body.  They  may  be  going  out 
for  target  practice  or  for  a  shooting  match  such  as 
was  held  annually  as  a  trial  of  skill ;  it  may  be  a 
parade,  or  it  may  be,  as  some  have  fancied,  a  call  to 
arms  against  a  sudden  attack  from  the  enemy.  In 
any  case  the  noticeable  thing  is  the  readiness  with 
which  all  respond  to  the  call  —  the  spirit  of  patri- 
otism which  animates  the  body.  The  Dutch  are 
not  naturally  warlike,  but  rather  a  peace-loving 
people ;  lacking  the  quick  impulsiveness  of  a  more 
nervous  race,  they  are  of  a  somewhat  heavy  and 
deliberate  temper;  yet  they  have  the  solid  worth 
which  can  be  counted  on  in  an  emergency,  and  in 
love  of  country  they  are  united  to  a  man.  Benja- 
min Franklin  once  said  of  Holland,  "  In  love  of 
liberty,  and  bravery  in  the  defense  of  it,  she  has 
been  our  great  example." 

The  picture  cannot  be  fully  understood  without 
some  knowledge  of  its  history.  Painted  for  the 
hall  of  the  Amsterdam  Musketeers,  it  was  to  take 
its  place  among  others  by  contemporary  painters, 
as  a  portrait  group  in  honor  of  the  officers  of  the 
year,  and  as  a  lasting  memorial  of  their  services. 
The  other  pictures  had  been  stiff  groups  about  a 
table,  and  the  novelty  of  Rembrandt's  composition 
displeased  some  of  the  members  of  the  guild.  Each 
person  who  figures  in  the  scene  had  subscribed  a 
certain  sum  towards  the  cost  of  the  picture  for  his 
own  portrait,  and  was  anxious  to  get  his  money's 
worth.  Consequently,  there  were  many  who  did  not 
at  all  relish  their  insignificance  in  the  background, 


66  REMBRANDT 

quite  overshadowed  by  the  glory  of  the  captain  and 
lieutenant.  They  thought  they  would  have  shown  to 
much  better  advantage  arranged  in  rows. 

It  was  Rembrandt's  way  when  painting  a  portrait 
to  give  life  and  reality  to  the  figure,  by  showing  the 
leading  element  in  the  character  or  occupation  of 
the  person.  Thus  his  shipbuilder  is  designing  a  ship, 
the  writing  master,  Coppenol,  is  mending  a  pen,  the 
architect  has  his  drawing  utensils,  and  the  preacher 
his  Bible.  So  in  the  Civic  Guard  each  man  carries 
a  weapon,  and  the  figures  are  united  in  spirited 
action.  All  this  artistic  motive  was  lost  upon  those 
for  whom  the  picture  was  painted,  because  of  their 
petty  vanity.  So  the  great  painting,  now  so  highly 
esteemed,  was  not  a  success  at  the  time. 

In  the  following  century  it  was  removed  to  the 
town  hall;  and  in  order  to  fit  it  into  a  particular 
place  on  the  wall,  a  strip  was  cut  off  each  side  the 
canvas.  It  is  the  loss  of  these  margins  which  gives 
the  composition  the  crowded  appearance  which  so 
long  seemed  a  strange  fault  in  a  great  artist  like 
Rembrandt. 

The  original  colors  of  the  painting  grew  so  dark 
with  the  accumulation  of  smoke  in  the  hall  that  the 
critics  supposed  the  scene  occurred  at  night,  hence 
the  incorrect  name  of  the  Night  Watch  was  given 
to  it.  Since  the  picture  was  cleaned,  in  1889,  it  is 
apparent  that  the  incident  occurred  in  the  daytime, 
and  if  you  look  carefully  you  can  plainly  see  the 
shadow  of  Captain  Cocq's  hand  on  the  lieutenant's 
tunic. 


XII 

PORTRAIT    OF  JAN    SIX 

When  the  painter  Rembrandt  came  to  Amsterdam 
in  1631,  a  young  man  seeking  his  fortune  in  the 
great  city,  a  lad  of  twelve  years  was  living  in  his 
father's  country  seat,  near  by,  who  was  later  to  be- 
come one  of  his  warm  friends.  This  was  Jan  Six, 
the  subject  of  the  portrait  etching  reproduced  here. 
There  was  a  great  contrast  in  the  circumstances  of 
life  in  which  the  two  friends  grew  up.  Rembrandt 
was  the  son  of  a  miller,  and  had  his  own  way  to 
make  in  the  world.  Jan  Six  was  surrounded  from 
his  earliest  years  with  everything  which  tended  to 
the  gratification  of  his  natural  taste  for  culture. 
Rembrandt's  rare  talent,  however,  overbalanced  any 
lack  of  early  advantages,  and  made  him  a  friend 
worth  having. 

Six  had  come  of  Huguenot  ancestry.  His  grand- 
father had  fled  to  Holland  during  the  Huguenot  per- 
secution in  France,  and  had  become  a  resident  in 
Amsterdam  in  1585.  Jan's  father,  another  Jan,  had 
married  a  Dutch  lady  of  good  family,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Anna  Wijmer.  It  was  in  the  service  of 
this  good  lady  that  we  first  hear  of  Rembrandt's 
connection  with  the  Six  family.  He  was  called  to 
paint  her  portrait  in  1641,  and  must  have  then,  if 


68  REMBRANDT 

not  before,  made  the  acquaintance  of  her  young  son, 
Jan.  Jan  united  to  a  great  love  of  learning  a  love 
of  everything  beautiful,  and  was  an  ardent  collector 
of  objects  of  art.  Paintings  of  the  old  Italian  and 
early  Dutch  schools,  rare  prints  and  curios  of  various 
kinds,  were  his  delight.  He  found  in  Rembrandt  a 
man  after  his  own  heart.  Already  the  painter  had 
gone  far  beyond  his  means  in  filling  his  own  house 
with  costly  works  of  art.  So  the  two  men,  having 
a  hobby  in  common,  found  a  strong  bond  of  union 
in  their  congenial  tastes.  We  may  be  sure  that 
they  were  often  together,  to  show  their  new  pur- 
chases and  discuss  their  beauty. 

Rembrandt,  as  an  older  and  more  experienced 
collector,  would  doubtless  have  good  advice  to  offer 
his  younger  friend,  and,  an  artist  himself,  would  know 
how  to  judge  correctly  a  work  of  art.  One  record 
of  their  friendship  in  these  years  is  a  little  etched 
landscape  which  Rembrandt  made  in  1641,  showing 
a  bridge  near  the  country  estate  of  the  Six  family, 
a  place  called  Elsbroek,  near  the  village  of  Hille- 
gom. 

It  was  in  1647  that  Rembrandt  made  this  portrait 
of  his  friend,  then  twenty-nine  years  of  age.  Six 
had  now  begun  to  make  a  name  for  himself  in  the 
world  of  letters  as  a  scholar  and  poet.  He  had 
already  published  a  poem  on  Muiderberg  (a  village 
near  Amsterdam),  and  by  this  time,  doubtless,  had 
under  way  his  great  literary  work,  the  tragedy  of 
Medaea.  Many  were  the  times  when  Rembrandt, 
coming  to  his  house  to  talk  over  some  new  treasure- 


Photographed  from 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  8c. 


PORTRAIT    OF    JAN    SIX 
Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Boston 


PORTRAIT  OF  JAN  SIX  71 

trove,  found  him  in  his  library  with  his  head  buried 
in  a  book,  and  his  thoughts  far  away.  It  was  in 
such  a  moment  that  he  must  have  had  the  idea  of 
this  beautiful  portrait.  He  catches  his  friend  one 
day  in  the  corner  of  his  library,  standing  with  his 
back  to  the  window  to  get  the  light  on  the  book  he 
is  reading.  He  transfers  the  picture  to  a  copper 
plate  and  hands  it  down  to  future  generations. 

The  slender  figure  of  the  young  man  is  clad  in 
the  picturesque  dress  of  a  gentleman  of  his  time, 
with  knee-breeches  and  low  shoes,  with  wide  white 
collar  and  cuffs.  His  abundant  wavy  blond  hair 
falls  to  his  shoulders ;  he  has  the  air  of  a  true  poet. 
In  his  eagerness  to  read,  he  has  flung  his  cavalier's 
cloak  on  the  window  seat  behind  him,  a  part  of  it 
dropping  upon  a  chair  beyond.  Its  voluminous 
folds  make  a  cushion  for  him,  as  he  leans  gracefully 
against  the  window  ledge.  His  sword  and  belt  lie 
on  the  chair  with  the  cloak.  For  the  moment  the 
pen  is  mightier  than  the  sword.  The  furnishings 
of  the  room  show  the  owner's  tastes ;  a  pile  of  folio 
volumes  fill  a  low  chair,  an  antique  picture  hangs 
on  the  wall. 

The  young  man's  face  is  seen  by  the  light  re- 
flected from  the  pages  of  his  open  book.  It  is  a 
refined,  sensitive  face,  of  high  intellectual  cast,  ami- 
able withal,  and  full  of  imagination.  He  is  com- 
pletely absorbed  in  his  reading,  a  smile  playing 
about  his  mouth.  How  little  of  a  fop  and  how 
much  of  a  poet  he  is,  we  see  from  his  disordered 
collar.     Breathing   quickly  as   he   bends  over   his 


72  REMBRANDT 

book,  in  his  excitement  he  cannot  endure  the  re- 
straint of  a  close  collar.  He  has  unloosed  it,  as, 
quite  oblivious  of  any  untidiness  in  his  appearance, 
he  hurries  on,  ruthlessly  crushing  the  pages  of  the 
folio  back,  as  he  grasps  it  in  his  hand. 

The  friendship  between  Six  and  Rembrandt 
seemed  to  grow  apace  ;  for  when  the  tragedy  of 
Medsea  was  published,  in  1648,  it  was  illustrated  by 
a  magnificent  etching  by  Rembrandt,  representing 
the  Marriage  of  Jason  and  Creusa. 

The  literary  work  of  Jan  Six  led  the  way  to 
various  public  honors.  In  1656  he  became  com- 
missioner of  marriages ;  in  1667,  a  member  of  the 
Council  of  the  States  General  of  Holland,  and  in 
1691,  burgomaster  of  Amsterdam.  His  continued 
friendship  for  Rembrandt  was  shown  in  his  pur- 
chasing a  number  of  the  latter's  paintings.  Rem- 
brandt at  length  painted  a  magnificent  portrait  of 
his  friend  in  his  old  age,  which,  with  the  portrait 
of  his  mother  and  the  original  plate  for  this  etching, 
still  remains  in  the  Six  family  in  Amsterdam.  Re- 
ferring to  the  portrait  of  Jan  Six,  the  famous  Dutch 
poet,  Vondel,  contemporary  of  Rembrandt  and  Six, 
paid  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  great  burgomaster,  as 
a  "lover  of  science,  art,  and  virtue." 


XIII 

PORTRAIT    OF   AN    OLD    WOMAN 

The  story  is  told  of  a  little  child  who,  upon  being 
introduced  to  a  kind-faced  lady,  looked  up  brightly 
into  her  eyes  with  the  question,  "  Whose  mother 
are  you  ? "  When  we  look  into  the  wrinkled  old 
face  of  this  picture,  the  same  sort  of  a  question 
springs  to  mind,  and  we  involuntarily  ask,  "  Whose 
grandmother  are  you  ?  "  We  are  sure  that  children 
and  grandchildren  have  leaned  upon  that  capacious 
lap.  The  name  of  the  subject  is  not  known,  though 
the  same  face  appears  many  times  in  Rembrandt's 
works.  But  there  are  many  people  whose  names 
we  can  quote,  of  whom  we  know  much  less  than  of 
this  old  woman. 

The  story  of  her  life  is  written  in  the  picture. 
Those  clasped  hands,  large  and  knotted,  have  done 
much  hard  work.  They  have  ministered  to  the 
needs  of  two  generations.  They  have  dandled  the 
baby  on  her  knee,  and  supported  the  little  toddler 
taking  his  first  steps.  They  have  tended  the  child 
and  wrought  for  the  youth.  They  have  built  the 
fire  on  the  hearth  and  swept  out  the  house ;  they 
have  kneaded  the  bread  and  filled  the  kettle ;  they 
have  spun  and  woven,  and  sewed  and  mended. 
They  have  not  even  shrunk  from  the  coarser  labors 


74  REMBRANDT 

of  dooryard  and  field,  the  care  of  the  cattle,  the 
planting  and  harvesting.  Bnt  labor  has  done  no- 
thing to  coarsen  the  innate  refinement  of  the  soul 
which  looks  out  of  the  fine  old  face. 

She  is  resting  now.  The  children  and  grandchil- 
dren have  grown  up  to  take  care  of  themselves  and 
their  grandmother  also.  She  has  time  to  sit  down 
in  the  twilight  of  life,  just  as  she  used  to  sit  down  at 
the  close  of  each  day's  work,  to  think  over  what  has 
happened.  She  has  a  large  comfortable  chair,  and 
she  is  neatly  dressed,  as  befits  an  old  woman  whose 
life  work  is  done.  A  white  kerchief  is  folded  across 
her  bosom,  a  shawl  is  wrapped  about  her  shoul- 
ders, and  a  hood  droops  over  her  forehead.  Her 
thoughts  are  far  away  from  her  present  surround- 
ings ;  something  sad  occupies  them.  She  dreams 
of  the  past  and  perhaps  also  of  the  future.  Sorrow 
as  well  as  work  has  had  a  large  share  in  her  life, 
but  she  has  borne  it  all  with  patient  resignation. 
She  is  not  one  to  complain,  and  does  not  mean  to 
trouble  others  with  her  sadness.  But  left  all  alone 
with  her  musings,  a  look  of  yearning  comes  into 
her  eyes  as  for  something  beautiful  and  much  loved, 
lost  long  ago. 

Some  painters  have  been  at  great  pains  to  fashion 
a  countenance  sorrowful  enough  and  patient 
enough  to  represent  the  subject  of  the  Mater  Dolo- 
rosa, that  is,  the  Sorrowing  Mother  of  Christ.  Per- 
haps they  would  have  succeeded  better  if  they  had 
turned  away  from  their  own  imaginations  to  some 
mother  in  real  life,  who  has  loved  and  worked  and 


Maison  Ad.  Braun  4  Cie.,  Photo. 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  Sc. 


PORTRAIT    OF   AN    OLD    WOMAN 
Hermitage  Gallery,  St.  Petersburg 


PORTRAIT  OF  AN  OLD  WOMAN  77 

suffered  like  this  one.  The  face  answers  in  part 
our  first  question.  A  woman  like  this  is  capable  of 
mothering  great  sons.  Industrious,  patient,  self- 
sacrificing,  she  would  spare  herself  nothing  to  train 
them  faithfully.  And  the  life  of  which  her  face 
speaks  —  a  life  of  self-denying  toil,  ennobled  by 
high  ideals  of  duty  —  is  the  stuff  of  which  heroes 
are  made.  Some  of  the  great  men  of  history  had 
such  mothers. 

The  picture  illustrates  the  fact  that  a  face  may  be 
interesting  and  even  artistic,  if  not  beautiful.  This 
idea  may  surprise  many,  for  when  one  calls  a  person 
"  as  pretty  as  a  picture,"  it  seems  to  be  understood 
that  it  is  only  pretty  people  who  make  suitable 
models  for  pictures.  Kembrandt,  however,  was  of 
quite  another  mind.  He  was  a  student  of  character 
as  well  as  a  painter,  and  he  cared  to  paint  faces 
more  for  their  expression  than  for  beauty  of  feature. 

Now  the  expression  of  a  face  is  to  a  great  extent 
the  index  of  character.  We  say  that  the  child  has 
u  no  character  in  his  face,"  meaning  that  his  skin  is 
still  fair  and  smooth,  before  his  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings have  made  any  record  there.  Gradually  the 
character  impresses  itself  on  his  face.  Experience 
acts  almost  like  a  sculptor's  chisel,  carving  lines  of 
care  and  grooving  furrows  of  sorrow,  shaping  the 
mouth  and  the  setting  of  the  eyes. 

The  longer  this  process  continues,  the  more  ex- 
pressive the  face  becomes,  so  that  it  is  the  old  whose 
faces  tell  the  most  interesting  stories  of  life.  Rem- 
brandt understood   this   perfectly,  and   none   ever 


78  REMBRANDT 

succeeded   better  than  he  in  revealing  the  poetry 
and  beauty  of  old  age. 

His  way  of  showing  the  character  in  the  face  of 
this  old  woman  is  very  common  with  him.  The 
high  light  of  the  picture  is  concentrated  on  the  face 
and  is  continued  down  upon  the  snowy  kerchief. 
This  forms  a  diamond  of  light  shading  by  grada- 
tions into  darker  tints.  It  was  the  skillful  use  of 
light  and  shadow  in  the  picture,  which  made  a  poetic 
and  artistic  work  of  a  subject  which  another  painter 
might  have  made  very  commonplace. 


XIV 

THE  SYNDICS  OF  THE  CLOTH  GUILD 

The  word  syndic  is  a  name  applied  to  an  officer 
of  a  corporation,  and  this  is  its  meaning  in  the  title 
of  the  picture,  The  Syndics  of  the  Cloth  Guild.  In 
Holland,  as  in  England  and  France  and  elsewhere 
in  Europe,  guilds  were  associations  of  tradesmen  or 
artisans  united  for  purposes  of  mutual  help  and 
for  the  interests  of  their  respective  industries.  In 
some  points  they  were  the  forerunners  of  modern 
trades  unions,  except  that  the  members  were  pro- 
prietary merchants  and  master  craftsmen  instead  of 
employees,  and  their  purpose  was  the  advancement 
of  commercial  interests  in  municipal  affairs,  instead 
of  the  protection  of  labor  against  capital.  There 
were  guilds  of  mercers,  wine  merchants,  goldsmiths, 
painters  and  many  others. 

Now  the  wool  industry  was  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant in  Holland,  hence  the  Guild  of  Drapers  or 
Cloth  Workers  was  a  dignified  association  in  several 
cities.  There  was  one  in  Leyden,  where  Rembrandt 
was  born,  and  another  in  Amsterdam,  where  he 
passed  the  most  of  his  life.  Amsterdam  was  at 
that  time  the  foremost  commercial  city  of  Europe. 
Its  guilds  had  fine  halls,  ornamented  with  works  of 
art  painted  by  the  best  contemporary  artists.     It 


80  REMBRANDT 

was  for  this  purpose  that  Rembrandt  received  from 
the  Amsterdam  Cloth  Guild  the  commission  to  paint 
a  portrait  group  of  their  five  officers,  and  he  accord- 
ingly delivered  to  them  in  1661  the  great  picture  of 
which  we  have  this  little  reproduction  to  examine. 

Just  as  in  the  picture  of  the  Civic  Guard  he  had 
given  life  to  the  portraits,  by  showing  the  members 
in  some  action  appropriate  to  their  military  charac- 
ter, so  here  he  represents  the  officers  of  the  guild  in 
surroundings  suggestive  of  their  duties.  They  are 
gathered  about  a  table  covered  with  a  rich  scarlet 
cloth,  on  which  rests  the  great  ledger  of  the  corpo- 
ration. They  are  engaged  in  balancing  their  ac- 
counts and  preparing  a  report  for  the  year,  and  a 
servant  awaits  their  order  in  the  rear  of  the  apart- 
ment. Their  task  seems  a  pleasant  one,  for  what- 
ever difficulties  have  arisen  during  their  administra- 
tion, it  is  evident  that  the  outcome  is  successful. 
They  take  a  quiet  satisfaction  in  the  year's  record. 

It  is  as  if  in  the  midst  of  their  consultations,  as 
they  turn  the  leaves  of  the  ledger,  we  suddenly 
open  the  door  into  the  room.  They  are  surprised 
but  not  disturbed  by  the  intrusion,  and  look  ge- 
nially towards  the  newcomers.  The  younger  man 
at  the  end  welcomes  us  with  a  smile.  Next  to  him 
is  one  who  has  been  leaning  over  the  book.  He 
raises  his  head  and  meets  our  eyes  frankly  and  cor- 
dially. His  companion  continues  his  discourse,  ges- 
turing with  the  right  hand.  The  older  men  at  one 
side  ffive  more  attention  to  the  arrival.  One  seated 
in  the  armchair  smiles  good  naturedly ;  the  other, 


- 


-    \ 


-<; 


THE  SYNDICS  OF  THE  CLOTH  GUILD  83 

rising  and  leaning  on  the  table,  peers  forward  with 
a  look  of  keen  inquiry. 

As  we  examine  the  faces  one  by  one,  we  could 
almost  write  a  character  study  of  each  man,  so  won- 
derfully does  the  portrait  reveal  the  inner  life  —  the 
placid  amiability  of  one,   the   quiet  humor  of  an- 
other, the  keen,  incisive  insight  of  a  third.     That 
they  are  all  men  of  sound  judgment  we  may  well 
believe,   and  they  are  plainly  men  to  be  trusted. 
The  motto  of  the  guild  is  a  key  to  their  character  : 
"  Conform  to  your  vows  in  all  matters  clearly  within 
their  jurisdiction ;  live  honestly  ;  be  not  influenced 
in  your  judgments  by  favor,  hatred,  or  personal  in- 
terest."    These  principles  are  at  the  foundation  of 
the   commercial   prosperity   for   which   Holland   is 

noted. 

The  picture  may  be  taken  to  illustrate  a  page  in 
American  history.     It  was  the  Dutch,  as  we  all  re- 
member, who  founded  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
the  fifty  years   of   their    occupation    (1614-1664) 
fell  within  the  lifetime  of  Rembrandt.     The  fifteen 
thousand  settlers,  who  came  during  this  time  from 
Holland  to  America,  brought  with  them  the  man- 
ners and  customs  of  their  home  country.     The  citi- 
zens of  New  Amsterdam  were  the  counterparts  of 
their  contemporaries  in  the  old  Amsterdam.     We 
may  see,  then,  in  this  picture  of  the  Cloth  Merchants 
of  Amsterdam  just  such  men  as  were  to  be  seen 
among  our  own  colonists.     In  the  broad-brimmed 
hat  and  the  wide  white  collar  we  find  the  same 
peculiarities  of  dress,  and  in  their  honest  faces  we 


84  REMBRANDT 

read  the  same  national  traits.  It  was  to  men  like 
these  that  we  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  some  of 
the  best  elements  in  our  national  life.  In  the  words 
of  a  historian,1  "  The  republican  Dutchmen  gave 
New  York  its  tolerant  and  cosmopolitan  character, 
insured  its  commercial  supremacy,  introduced  the 
common  schools,  founded  the  oldest  day  school  and 
the  first  Protestant  church  in  the  United  States,  and 
were  pioneers  in  most  of  the  ideas  and  institutions 
we  boast  of  as  distinctly  American." 

If  you  fancy  that  it  was  quite  accidental  that  the 
six  figures  of  this  picture  are  so  well  arranged,  and 
wonder  why  the  art  of  Rembrandt  should  be  so 
praised  here,  you  may  try  an  experiment  with  your 
camera  upon  a  group  of  six  figures.  In  posing  six 
persons  in  any  order  which  is  not  stiff,  and  getting 
them  all  to  look  with  one  accord  and  quite  natu- 
rally towards  a  single  point,  you  will  understand 
some  of  the  many  difficulties  which  Rembrandt 
overcame  so  simply. 

1  W.  E.  Griffis,  in  Brave  Little  Holland,  pp.  212-213. 


XV 

THE    THREE    TREES 

Holland,  as  is  well  known,  is  a  country  built  upon 
marshes,  which  have  been  drained  and  filled  in  by 
the  patient  industry  of  many  generations  of  workers. 
The  land  is  consequently  very  low,  almost  perfectly 
level,  and  is  covered  by  a  network  of  canals.  It 
lacks  many  of  the  features  which  make  up  the  nat- 
ural scenery  of  other  countries,  —  mountains  and 
ravines,  rocks  and  rivers,  —  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  a 
very  picturesque  country.  Artists  love  it  for  the 
quiet  beauty  of  its  landscape.  Though  this  is  not 
grand  and  awe-inspiring,  it  is  restful  and  attractive. 

We  may  well  believe  that  the  artistic  nature  of 
Kembrandt  was  sensitive  to  the  influences  of  his 
native  Dutch  scenery.  Though  his  great  forte  in 
art  lay  in  other  directions,  he  paused  from  time  to 
time  to  paint  or  etch  a  landscape. 

Even  in  this  unaccustomed  work  he  proved  himself 
a  master.  He  treated  the  subject  much  as  he  did  a 
portrait,  —  trying  to  bring  out  the  character  of  the 
scene  just  as  he  brought  out  the  character  in  a  face. 
How  much  of  a  story  he  could  tell  in  a  single  picture 
we  see  in  this  famous  etching  called  The  Three 
Trees. 

One  can  tell  at  a  glance  that  this  is  Holland.     We 


86  REMBRANDT 

look  across  a  wide  level  stretch  of  land,  and  the  eye 
travels  on  and  on  into  an  almost  endless  distance. 
Far  away  we  see  the  windmills  of  a  Dutch  town  out- 
lined against  the  sky,  —  a  sign  of  industry  as  im- 
portant in  Holland  as  are  factory  chimneys  in  some 
other  parts  of  the  world.  Beyond  this,  another  end- 
less level  stretch  meets  the  sky  at  the  horizon  line. 
It  is  hard  to  distinguish  the  land  and  water,  which 
seem  to  lie  in  alternate  strips.  The  pastures  are 
surrounded  by  canals  as  by  fences. 

Here  and  there  are  cows  grazing,  and  we  are  re- 
minded of  the  fine  dairy  farms  for  which  Holland 
is  noted,  the  rich  butter  and  cheese,  which  are  the 
product  of  these  vast  flat  lands,  apparently  so  use- 
less and  unproductive.  Directly  in  front  of  us,  at 
the  left,  is  a  still  pool,  and  on  the  farther  bank 
stands  a  fisherman  holding  a  rod  over  the  water. 
A  woman  seated  on  the  bank  watches  the  process 
with  intense  interest.  There  are  two  other  figures 
near  by  which  can  hardly  be  discerned. 

The  wide  outlook  of  flat  country  is  the  setting 
for  the  little  tree-crowned  hill  which  rises  near  us  at 
the  right.  It  would  seem  a  very  small  hillock  any- 
where else,  but  in  these  level  surroundings  it  has  a 
distinct  character.  It  is  the  one  striking  feature 
which  gives  expression  to  the  face  of  the  landscape. 
The  eye  turns  with  pleasure  to  its  grassy  slopes  and 
leafy  trees.  The  trees  have  the  symmetrical  grace 
so  characteristic  of  Dutch  vegetation.  Nothing  is 
allowed  to  grow  wild  in  this  country.  Every  grow- 
ing thing  is  carefully  nurtured  and  trained.     We 


THE  THREE  TREES  89 

see  that  the  distances  between  these  trees  were  care- 
fully spaced  in  the  planting,  so  that  each  one  might 
develop  independently  and  perfectly  without  injury 
to  the  others.  The  branches  grow  from  their 
straight  trunks  at  the  same  height,  and  they  are 
plainly  of  the  same  age.  Their  outer  branches  in- 
terlace in  brotherly  companionship  to  make  a  solid 
leafy  arbor,  beneath  which  the  wayfarer  may  find  a 
shady  retreat.  On  the  summit  of  the  hill,  outlined 
against  the  sky,  is  a  hay  wagon  followed  by  a  'man 
with  a  rake.  At  a  distance,  also  clearly  seen  against 
the  sky,  on  the  ridge  of  the  hill,  sits  a  man,  alone 
and  idle.  i 

The  sky  is  a  wonderful  part  of  the  picture.  Rem- 
brandt, it  appears,  almost  never  ventured  to  repre- 
sent the  clouds.  He  had  the  true  artist's  reverence 
for  subjects  which  were  beyond  his  skill,  and  pre- 
ferred to  leave  untouched  what  he  could  not  do 
well.  Now  in  this  case,  lacking  the  experience  to 
draw  a  sky  as  finished  in  workmanship  as  his  land- 
scape, he  suggested  in  a  few  lines  the  effect  which 
he  wished  to  produce.  At  the  left  a  few  diagonal 
strokes  show  a  smart  shower  just  at  hand.  A  whirl 
of  dark-colored  clouds  comes  next,  and  in  the  upper 
air  beyond,  a  stratum  of  clouds  is  indicated  by  a 
mass  of  lines  crossing  and  recrossing  in  long  swirl- 
ing curves. 

With  these  few  lines  Eembrandt  conveys  per- 
fectly the  idea  that  a  storm  is  approaching.  The 
clouds  seem  to  be  in  motion,  scurrying  across  the 
sky  in  advance  of  the  rain.     One  imaginative  critic 


90  REMBRANDT 

has  thought  that  he  could  discern  in  the  cloud-whirl 
a  dim  phantom  figure  as  of  the  spirit  of  the  on-com- 
ing storm.  Like  the  clouds  we  often  see  in  nature, 
it  takes  some  new  fantastic  shape  every  time  we 
look  at  it.  Altogether  the  impression  we  receive  is 
that  of  vivid  reality.  The  artist's  few  lines  have 
produced  with  perfect  success  an  effect,  which  might 
have  been  entirely  spoiled  had  he  tried  to  finish  it 
carefully. 

We  look  once  more  at  the  landscape  to  see  what 
influence  the  coming  storm  has  upon  it.  The  fisher- 
man pays  no  heed.  The  clouding  of  the  sky  only 
makes  the  fish  bite  better,  and  absorbed  in  his  sport 
he  cares  nothing  for  weather.  The  haymaker  on 
the  hilltop  has  a  better  chance  to  read  the  face  of 
the  sky,  and  starts  up  his  wagon.  The  three  trees 
seem  to  feel  the  impending  danger.  Their  leafage 
is  already  darkening  in  the  changed  light,  and  they 
toss  their  branches  in  the  wind,  as  if  to  wrestle  with 
the  spirit  of  the  storm. 


XVI 

THE   PORTRAIT   OF   REMBRANDT 

In  studying  the  fifteen  pictures  of  this  collection, 
we  have  seen  something  of  the  work  of  the  great 
Dutch  master,  Rembrandt,  and  have  learned  a  little 
of  the  man  himself,  of  his  love  for  the  sweet  wife, 
Saskia,  of  his  friendship  with  the  cultured  burgo- 
master, Jan  Six,  of  his  faithful  and  reverent  study 
of  the  Bible,  of  his  rare  insight  into  people's  charac- 
ter. We  are  ready  now  to  look  directly  into  the 
artist's  own  face,  in  a  portrait  by  his  own  hand. 

There  are  a  great  many  portraits  of  Rembrandt 
etched  and  painted  by  himself.  We  have  noticed 
how  fond  he  was  of  painting  the  same  model  many 
times,  in  order  to  make  a  thorough  study  of  the 
face,  in  varying  moods  and  expressions.  Now  there 
was  one  sitter  who  was  always  at  hand,  and  ready 
to  do  his  bidding.  He  had  only  to  take  a  position 
in  front  of  a  mirror,  and  there  was  this  model  willing 
to  pose  in  any  position  and  with  any  expression  he 
desired.  So  obliging  a  sitter  could  nowhere  else  be 
found;  and  thus  it  is  that  there  is  such  a  large  col- 
lection of  his  self-made  portraits. 

His  habit  of  painting  his  own  portrait  gave  him 
an  opportunity  to  study  all  sorts  of  costume  effects. 
His  patrons  were  plain,  slow-going  Dutchmen  who 


92  REMBRANDT 

did  not  want  any  "  fancy  "  effects  in  their  portraits. 
They  wished  first  of  all  a  faithful  likeness  in  such 
clothing  as  they  ordinarily  wore.  It  was  chiefly  in 
his  own  portraits  that  Rembrandt  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  painting  the  rich  and  fanciful  costumes  he 
loved  so  well.  He  wore  in  turn  all  sorts  of  hats  and 
caps,  many  jewels  and  ornaments,  and  every  variety 
of  mantle,  doublet,  and  cuirass.  In  this  he  was 
somewhat  like  an  actor  taking  the  parts  of  many 
different  characters.  Sometimes  he  is  an  officer 
with  mustaches  fiercely  twisted,  carrying  his  head 
with  a  dashing  military  air.  Again  he  is  a  cavalier 
wearing  his  velvet  mantle,  and  plumed  hat,  with  the 
languid  elegance  of  a  gentleman  of  leisure.  Some- 
times he  seems  a  mere  country  boor,  a  rough,  un- 
kempt fellow,  with  coarse  features  and  a  heavy 
expression. 

As  we  see  him  acting  so  many  roles,  we  may  well 
wonder  what  the  character  of  the  man  really  was. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  was  full  of  singular  contra- 
dictions. In  his  personal  habits  he  was  frugal  and 
temperate  to  the  last  degree,  preferring  the  simplest 
fare,  and  contenting  himself  with  a  lunch  of  herring 
and  cheese  when  occupied  with  his  work.  On  the 
other  hand,  his  artistic  tastes  led  him  into  reckless 
extravagance.  He  thought  no  price  too  great  to 
pay  for  a  choice  painting,  or  rare  print,  upon  which 
he  had  set  his  heart.  He  was  generous  to  a  fault, 
fond  of  his  friends,  yet  living  much  alone. 

In  the  portrait  we  have  chosen  for  our  frontis- 
piece, we  like  to  believe  that  we  see  Rembrandt,  the 


THE  PORTRAIT  OF  REMBRANDT  93 

man  himself.  He  wears  one  of  his  rich  studio  cos- 
tumes, but  the  face  which  he  turns  to  ours  is  quite  free 
from  any  affectation  ;  a  spirit  of  sincerity  looks  out 
of  his  kindly  eyes.  The  portrait  is  signed  and 
dated  1640,  so  that  the  man  is  between  thirty  and 
thirty-five  years  of  age.  This  was  the  happiest 
period  of  Rembrandt's  life,  while  his  wife  Saskia 
was  still  living  to  brighten  his  home. 

We  see  his  contentment  in  his  face.     He  has 
large  mobile  features,  which  have  here  settled  into 
an  expression  of  genial  repose.     He  has  the  digni- 
fied bearing  of  one  whose  professional  success  en- 
titles him  to  a  just  sense  of  self-satisfaction,  but  he 
is  not  posing  as  a  great  man.     He  is  still  a  simple- 
hearted  miller's  son,  a  man  whom  we  should  like  to 
meet  in  his  own  family  circle,  with  his  little  ones 
playing  about  him.     He  is  a  man  to  whom  children 
might  run,  sure  of  a  friendly  welcome ;  he  is  a  man 
whom  strangers  might  trust,  sure  of  his  sincerity. 
It  is,  in  short,  Rembrandt,  with  all  the  kindliest 
human  qualities  uppermost,  which  show  us,  behind 
the  artist,  the  man  himself. 


PRONOUNCING  VOCABULARY  OF  PROPER  NAMES 
AND  FOREIGN  WORDS. 


The  Diacritical  Marks  given  are  those  found  in  the  latest  edition  of  Webster's  Inter- 
national Dictionary. 

EXPLANATION  OF  DIACRITICAL  MARKS. 

A  Dash  ("")  above  the  vowel  denotes  the  long  sound,  as  in  fate,  eve,  time,  note,  use. 

A  dash  and  a  dot  ("*")  above  the  vowel  denote  the  same  sound,  less  prolonged. 

A  Curve  (")  above  the  vowel  denotes  the  short  sound,  as  in  Sdd,  end,  111,  odd,  up. 

A  Dot  ( * )  above  the  vowel  a  denotes  the  obscure  sound  of  a  in  past,  abate,  AmSrica. 

A  Double  Dot  (")  above  the  vowel  a  denotes  the  broad  sound  of  a  in  father,  alms. 

A  Double  Dot  (  m  )  below  the  vowel  a  denotes  the  sound  of  a  in  ball. 

A  Wave  ("")  above  the  vowel  e  denotes  the  sound  of  e  in  her. 

A  Circumflex  Accent  (*)  above  the  vowel  o  denotes  the  sound  of  o  in  born. 

e  sounds  like  e  in  depSnd. 

6  sounds  like  o  in  propose. 

£  sounds  like  s. 

■e  sounds  like  k. 

§  sounds  like  Z. 

g  is  hard  as  in  get. 

g  is  soft  as  in  gem. 


Am/sterdam. 

Apocrypha  (a  pok'ri  fa). 

Arama7!*. 

Ase'nath. 

Assyria. 

Azarl'as. 

Bathshe'ba. 
Betb/lehem. 
Bildt  (belt). 
Braun  (brown). 
Breestraat  (bra'strat). 
burgher  (ber'ger). 

•eaper'naum. 

Cassel  (kas'sel). 

chiaroscuro  (kya  ro  skob/rO). 

■€le'opas. 

Cocq  (kok). 

Coppenol  (k5p'p6  nol). 

Creu'sa. 

cuirass  (kwe  ras'). 

eymar  (si  mar7). 


doelen  (doc/len). 

Ecbatane  (ek  bai/a  mi). 

Elsbroek  (els'brobk). 

Emma'us  (or  em'ma  us). 

Enemes'sar. 

E'phraim. 

et'zen. 

Friesland  (frezland). 
Fromentin  (fro  moN  taN7). 

Gab'ael  (or  ga'ba  el). 
Galile'O. 
6ennes'aret. 
Goethe  (ge'tu). 

Hague  (hag). 

Hamelin  (ha'me  lin). 

Hanfstaengl,    Franz    (frants    hanf'- 

stangl). 
Hatto  (hat'6). 
Hillegom  (hlTle  gom). 


96 

Is/rael. 

Ja'son. 
Jer'leho. 
Joden  (yo'dgn). 


Lastman,     Pieter     (pe'tSr     last'- 

man). 
Leyden  (ll'd§n). 
Louvre  (16b7  vr). 

Manasseh  (ma  nas'su). 

Mano'ah. 

Mater    Dolorosa   (ma'tSr    dol&ro'- 

sa). 
Medaea  (me  de'a). 
Media  (nie'di  a). 
Michel  (me  shel'). 
Muiderberg  (moi'dgr  berg). 

Naz'areth. 
Nineveh  (nin'6  vu). 

Odalisque  (o'da  lisk). 

Padana'ram. 

Palestine. 

Penl'el. 

Penu'el. 

Pur'mgrland. 


REMBRANDT 


Ra/geg. 

Ragu'el  (or  rag'u  81) 

Raphael  (ra/fa  el). 

Rembrandt  (rem'brant). 

Ruytenberg,    Willem   van    (willem 

van  roi'tgn  berg). 
Ryks. 

Saskia  (sas'ke  a). 

Senna«h'erib. 

Sim'eon. 

Six,  Jan  (yan  sex). 

Stuttgart  (stoot'gart). 

Sylvius,  Jan  Cornells  (yan  k6r  ne'lis 

sil've  06s). 
Syn'dte. 
Swanenburch  (swa/nen  boorK). 

Tigris. 

Tobi'as. 

To'bit. 

Trippenhuis  (trip'pen  hois). 

Uylenborch,   Rombertus   van    (rom 
beYtoos  van  oi'len  borK). 

Vlaerdingen  (vlar'dlng  en). 
Vondel  (v5n'del). 

Wijmer  (wl'mer). 


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